Children’s Rights and Leading Children’s Advocacy Organizations Challenge New Regulations for Detaining Families and Children

Children’s Rights and a coalition of nonprofit children’s advocacy organizations submitted an amicus brief today challenging the Trump administration’s new regulations that would overturn protections for immigrant children under the Flores Agreement and allow the indefinite detention of children and families.

The brief argues that detention, even with their families, inflicts long-term, irreparable psychological harm on children. In addition, the new regulations would allow the administration to license and conduct oversight over its own facilities and will put children in danger by dispensing with critical safety mechanisms present in state-licensed facilities. For example, the federal government would not be required to conduct thorough investigations of reports of abuse and maltreatment.

Signatories to the brief include several of the most respected nonprofit children’s organizations: Children’s Rights; The Center for the Study of Social Policy; The Center for Children & Youth Justice; The Center on Children and Families; The Children’s Advocacy Institute; First Star, Inc.; Juvenile Law Center; The Children’s Law Center, Inc.; The National Association for Counsel for Children. The law firm of Chapman and Cutler LLP is serving as pro bono counsel to Children’s Rights in connection with its challenge to the regulations and drafted the brief.

Read the full brief here.