Flores v. Reno

The Flores case was filed in 1985 to address the serious mistreatment of immigrant children in federal custody. The case settled in 1997 and remains under the supervision of federal court judge Dolly Gee in the Central District of California. The Flores settlement agreement set national standards for the treatment, placement, and release of all immigrant children detained in the custody of the federal government. Under the settlement agreement (with limited exceptions), including:

The Flores Settlement gives Children’s Rights, Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law (CHRCL), and the National Center for Youth Law (NCYL) access to federal immigration prisons, detention centers, and other facilities across the country that confine children for immigration purposes, allowing us to monitor conditions and interview children and their families. Flores counsel are the primary, and often the only, independent monitors of these facilities. We are charged with overseeing the government’s compliance with the Flores Settlement and seeking court enforcement when those protections are violated. Since the Flores Settlement Agreement was reached in 1997, persistent and ongoing government violations have repeatedly required Flores counsel to ask the court to enforce its terms.

Return to In The Courts