Enforce the Flores Settlement Agreement
The National Center for Youth Law serves as co-counsel on Flores v. Garland, which resulted in the landmark 1997 Flores Settlement Agreement establishing national minimum standards for the treatment, placement, and release of detained immigrant children. The case remains under the supervision of U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee in the Central District of California.
As Flores counsel, we represent children in federal immigration custody.
The National Center for Youth Law and co-counsel filed Flores v. Reno in 1985 to address the mistreatment of immigrant children in federal custody. The case settled in 1997 and remains under the supervision of U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee in the Central District of California.
The Flores Settlement Agreement established national minimum standards for the treatment, placement, and release of detained immigrant children. As Flores counsel, the National Center for Youth Law is one of very few organizations authorized to visit federal detention centers to monitor conditions and interview detained immigrant children. Along with co-counsel, the National Center for Youth Law monitors the government’s compliance with the Settlement’s terms and files motions to enforce the Settlement when necessary. Since 1997, the National Center for Youth Law and co-counsel have filed multiple motions to enforce the Settlement against the government’s violations of its terms.
Flores stands through multiple administrations
The National Center for Youth Law has witnessed decades of harm to children in federal immigration custody, from no soap and showers to hiding children in motels before expelling them without due process to holding children for days on end in overcrowded tent facilities and more. Time and time again, through multiple administrations, Flores has stood for the basic health and safety of children.
