LOS ANGELES — A federal judge on Friday approved the Biden administration’s request to partially end a nearly three-decade-old agreement to provide court oversight of how the government cares for migrant children in its custody.
The Justice Department argued that new safeguards, which are set to take effect Monday, meet and in some ways exceed standards set forth in the court settlement. The judge for the most part agreed, carving out exceptions for certain types of facilities for children with more acute needs. The Flores settlement agreement, named for Jenny Lisette Flores, a 15-year-old immigrant from El Salvador, is a policy cornerstone that grew out of widespread allegations of mistreatment in the 1980s. It forces the U.S. to quickly release children in custody to relatives in the country and sets standards at licensed shelters, including for food, drinking water, adult supervision, emergency medical services, toilets, sinks, temperature control and ventilation.
The new HHS regulations will create an independent ombudsman’s office, establish minimum standards at temporary overflow shelters and formalize advances in screening protocols for releasing children to families and sponsors and for legal services.