Washington D.C., Aug 21, 2019 / 16:49 pm
The White House announced on Wednesday that it would look to terminate court-approved limits on detention of migrant children and families, allowing for indefinite detention. The announcement drew strong criticism from a leading Catholic immigration group.
"These changes would expand the number of children who will be detained and are in direct opposition to the child-friendly provisions in the Flores agreement," said Anna Gallagher, executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC).
Gallagher added that the action "would destroy long-term child protection standards created by our government and the courts."
The White House's new rule will seek to terminate the Flores Settlement Agreement, a court-approved national policy on the treatment of migrants by U.S. government agencies. The new rule must be approved by a federal judge before it can go into effect.