September 6, 2018
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Today, the Trump administration announced a new regulation that would allow the Trump administration to hold children in detention centers beyond the current 20-day limit established in the 1997 Flores settlement. Sandy Santana, Executive Director of Children’s Rights, issued this statement:
“With this new proposal, the Trump administration is attempting to hold families indefinitely and sidestep a federal rule that for over 20 years has protected immigrant children from abuse and neglect. Children do not belong in institutions, period. Every day spent in a shelter, with or without their families, exposes these children to further trauma. The policy would blatantly violate US law and ignore a body of clinical findings that child incarceration leads to potentially irreparable emotional and physical harm to young bodies and minds.”
Children’s Rights will continue to hold this government accountable and advocate for the rights of detained children. We must ensure that they receive the safe and humane treatment they deserve.
- Read Sandy Santana speaking out against this policy proposal in La Opinión.
- Learn more about Children’s Rights’ legal action and strategic advocacy to reunite migrant children and families here.