The Justice Department on Thursday asked a federal judge to modify the Flores settlement, which would allow undocumented families to be detained together for longer than 20 days.
But a department spokesman said regardless of the forthcoming decision by U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, it is still “incumbent for Congress” to pass immigration reform.
“This entire journey and ultimate crossing puts children and families at risk, and violates criminal laws enacted by Congress to protect the border. Those illegal crossings must stop,” the Justice Department said in its filing.
The request came on the heels of President Trump’s newest executive order, an effort to keep undocumented families together following the administration’s implementation of the “zero tolerance” policy.
The decision at issue is Flores v. Reno, known as the “Flores settlement,” and was first reached in 1997. It required immigration authorities to release children from immigration detention after 20 days.
The settlement was revised by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in 2015, which required authorities to prioritize family reunification “without unnecessary delay” to a close relative or family friend, or to keep an immigrant child in custody in the “least restrictive conditions.”
The modification the Justice Department is asking for would allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain a whole family unit for more than 20 days — through criminal proceedings and any asylum proceedings.
The zero tolerance policy has resulted in the separation of more than 2,300 children from their families.
