Immigration Law

Recent Posts

Flores Settlement News (May 23, 2022)
Posted on 23 May 2022 by Daniel M. Kowalski

Peter Schey reports: "After two years of negotiations, we have reached a settlement with the U.S. border patrol that for the first time sets detailed standards for the safe detention of immigrant children. We were assisted by pro bono co-counsel... Read More

Tags: flores

CA9 on Flores Agreement (Dec. 29, 2020)
Posted on 29 Dec 2020 by Daniel M. Kowalski

Flores v. Rosen "We consider again the consent decree incorporating the Flores Agreement, a 1997 settlement agreement between the United States and a class of all minors subject to immigration detention (“the Agreement”). The Agreement... Read More

Tags: flores

CA9 Denies DHS Stay Request in Flores
Posted on 5 Oct 2020 by Daniel M. Kowalski

Flores v. Barr, Oct. 4, 2020 "The government has not satisfactorily explained why ORR’s largely empty shelters are not capable of absorbing even as many as 140 additional minors a week for short-term stays before those minors are expelled... Read More

Legal Scholars & UN Experts: Flores Regulations Violate International Law
Posted on 30 Jan 2020 by Daniel M. Kowalski

Cornell Law Prof. Ian M. Kysel writes: "As the amicus briefs in the 9th circuit appeal in Flores rolled in, I wanted to flag one in particular on which I am co-counsel: an amicus brief by more than 125 legal scholars and non-governmental organizations... Read More

"Why Detain at All?"
Posted on 29 Jun 2019 by Daniel M. Kowalski

Miriam Jordan, New York Times, June 29, 2019 "A federal judge has ordered a mediator to move swiftly to improve health and sanitation at Border Patrol facilities in Texas, where observers reported migrant children were subject to filthy conditions... Read More

Judge Orders Feds to Fix Kids' Border Detention Conditions Fast (Law360)
Posted on 29 Jun 2019 by Daniel M. Kowalski

Dave Simpson, Law360, June 28, 2019 "A California federal judge Friday gave the Trump administration two weeks to get living conditions for children being detained at border facilities up to snuff, following reports that kids there are malnourished... Read More

Attorneys: Texas Border Facility is Neglecting Migrant Kids
Posted on 24 Jun 2019 by Daniel M. Kowalski

Cedar Attanasio, Garance Burke and Martha Mendoza, Associated Press, June 21, 2019 "A 2-year-old boy locked in detention wants to be held all the time. A few girls, ages 10 to 15, say they’ve been doing their best to feed and soothe the clingy... Read More

Feds Tell 9th Circuit: Detained Kids ‘Safe and Sanitary’ Without Soap
Posted on 21 Jun 2019 by Daniel M. Kowalski

Helen Christophi, Courthouse News, June 18, 2019 "The Trump administration argued in front of a Ninth Circuit panel Tuesday that the government is not required to give soap or toothbrushes to children apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border and can... Read More

Expert: Any Regulatory 'Reform' of Flores Settlement Would Trigger Lawsuit (Law360)
Posted on 21 May 2019 by Daniel M. Kowalski

Nicole Narea, Law360, May 20, 2019 "The 1997 Flores Settlement, which stems from a 1985 class action known as Flores filed on behalf of migrant kids in government detention, limits the amount of time minors can spend in immigration detention, among... Read More

Schrag: Proposed Flores Regulation is Legally Invalid
Posted on 6 Nov 2018 by Daniel M. Kowalski

Today, Nov. 6, 2018, is the last day to file comments on the Flores NPRM filed by DHS and HHS. So far, over 57,000 comments have been filed. Prof. Philip G. Schrag , co-director of the Center for Applied Legal Studies, the asylum law clinic at Georgetown... Read More

Special Master / Independent Monitor Appointed in Flores: Andrea Sheridan Ordin
Posted on 8 Oct 2018 by Daniel M. Kowalski

Flores v. Sessions, Oct. 5, 2018 - "The Court hereby appoints Andrea Sheridan Ordin as the Special Master/Independent Monitor (“the Monitor”)." Read More

Tags: flores , USCIS

CA9 Upholds Saravia Preliminary Injunction
Posted on 1 Oct 2018 by Daniel M. Kowalski

Saravia v. Sessions , court staff summary - "In an action arising from Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s rearrest and detention of noncitizens who came to this country as unaccompanied minors, the panel affirmed the district court’s... Read More

Trump Administration’s New Indefinite Family Detention Policy: Deterrence Not Guaranteed
Posted on 27 Sep 2018 by Daniel M. Kowalski

Muzaffar Chishti and Sarah Pierce, Migration Policy Institute, Sept. 26, 2018 - "Having shelved a controversial family-separation practice that drew massive protest—and did not slow the arrival of Central American families at the U.S.-Mexico... Read More

Flores in the Crosshairs
Posted on 6 Sep 2018 by Daniel M. Kowalski

Nick Miroff, Maria Sacchetti, Washington Post, Sept. 6, 2018 - "The Trump administration said Thursday it is preparing to circumvent limits on the government’s ability to hold minors in immigration jails by withdrawing from the Flores Settlement... Read More

Tags: flores

Judge to Appoint Independent Monitor for Detained Immigrant Children
Posted on 30 Jul 2018 by Daniel M. Kowalski

CNN, July 27, 2018 - "A federal judge said Friday she will appoint an independent monitor to keep tabs on the conditions migrant children are kept in after they are detained along parts of the southern border. "There continue to be persistent... Read More

Tags: gee , monitor , flores , Children