Flores Settlement Proposed Regulations—How To Comment

Background

On September 7, 2018, the Trump administration published proposed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Health and Human Services Department (HHS) regulations to implement the terms of the Flores Settlement Agreement, the 1997 legal settlement that governs the conditions of children held in immigration detention.  The proposed regulations would remove key safeguards the federal government agreed to in the Flores Agreement, including permitting the long-term detention of children, as well as long-term family detention.  In addition to permitting indefinite family detention, the rule would end existing Flores requirements that facilities holding immigrant children, including family detention facilities, be state-licensed, creating a new alternative federal licensing scheme. Also, the proposed regulations waive existing child protections in the case of “emergency,” which is broadly defined, and remove protections for unaccompanied children (UAC), including continually reassessing UACs and changing the bond hearing process for UACs in a manner that may be less favorable for them.

The 1997 Flores Settlement Agreement, the result of litigation which originated in the 1980s when children fled alone to the United States to escape civil wars in Central America, protects immigrant children from indefinite detention in unsafe and inappropriate conditions. The agreement requires that children be released from custody as quickly as possible, preferably to a parent, and that until they can safely be released they are held in the least restrictive setting; generally, in a non-secure facility licensed by a child welfare entity. We all know that the solution to holding immigrant children in cages without their parents is not to hold them in cages with their parents. Like separation at the border, this inhumane practice cannot stand. Like separation at the border, you can make the administration change course.

Action
Your voice and your leadership are needed now. The most effective way to fight back against this proposal is to get as many people as possible to participate in the 60-day public comment period, which ends November 6.

1.       Submit a comment on behalf of yourself or your organization: Click here to register your opposition to the administration's proposal and stand up for immigrant children’s safety.  See suggested comments below. Please adapt the language to share why you oppose the Trump administration’s new regulations to indefinitely detain children, lower standards of care in immigration jails, and remove legal protections from minors seeking safety in the U.S.  N.B. Identical comments will be discarded.

2.       Help others submit written comments: CLINIC’s Flores Public Comment Mini-Toolkit gives you everything you need to:

·         Share information about the proposal;

·         Organize an event in your community to gather public comments;

·         Submit comments by mail. Must be postmarked by November 6, 2018.

3.       Contact Congress: While these regulations are pending, Congress is actively considering legislative changes that would give DHS greater funding and authority to jail immigrants. Tell members of Congress to oppose family detention in any form and demand cuts to funding for immigration detention and enforcement.

Suggested Comments:  REMEMBER, you will need to revise these suggestions to make them unique.

Sample Introduction

[On behalf of ORGANIZATION], [We/I] would like to submit the following comments concerning the proposed rule from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on the Apprehension, Processing, Care, and Custody of Alien Minors and Unaccompanied Alien Children (Docket No. ICEB-2018-0002).

[INSERT BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION OR INDIVIDUAL SUBMITTING COMMENTS] [ORGANIZATION is/ I am] concerned that the proposed rule is contrary to the purpose and spirit of the 1997 Flores Settlement Agreement which sought to ensure that all children in the government’s custody are “treated with dignity, respect, and special concern for their particular vulnerability as minors.”

[We are/I am] called by our faith to care for the most vulnerable and we are challenged by our national values to promote the welfare of our children and tend the common good. Therefore, we/I must oppose the government’s proposal to discard the Flores Settlement Agreement safeguards, which protects the welfare of migrant children in U.S. government custody, in favor of dangerously broad criteria that allow indefinite detention, fewer legal protections, and questionable standards of care and oversight. Children and families belong together and free from detention.

Key Points you might include

[ORGANIZATION is/ I am] opposed to the proposed rule “Apprehension, Processing, Care, and Custody of Alien Minors and Unaccompanied Alien Children” because:

·         Detention, even for a short amount of time, has been proven to be devastating to a child’s development, health, and well-being. This proposed rule permitting indefinite detention is abusive and inhumane. The Flores settlement was put in place to ensure children are treated with “dignity, respect and special concern for their particular vulnerability as minors.” The proposed rule fails to meet those standards.

·         There are proven, effective alternatives to detention, such as the Family Case Management System. It is less harmful to a developing child and more cost effective.

·         The proposed rule is an unnecessary burden on taxpayers. Alternatives to detention are proven to be effective and humane. The proposed rule is a needless cost and a poor and wasteful use of resources.

·         It is unacceptable for the administration to have the authority to certify that its own jails are safe for children. Detention facilities have been proven time and time again to be dangerous to the health and well-being of vulnerable children.

·         The proposed regulations do not serve the best interest of children. Instead, they undermine existing child protections. That is contrary to the Flores Agreement’s purpose, contrary to the values of this nation, and contrary to our/my faith.

Sample Conclusion

Our faith, and the ideals upon which this nation was founded, call us to be mindful of the common good, to embrace our neighbors, and to care for our children. [ORGANIZATION / I] urge[s] DHS and HHS to reject the proposed regulations or to make revisions to ensure that children are protected and the regulations are consistent with the purpose and spirit of the Flores Agreement.

Additional resources:

·         JFI—10 Things You Should Know about Proposed Flores Regulations

·         Catholic Legal Network, Inc. (CLINIC) Mini Toolkit on Flores

·         Protecting Immigrant Families

·         CLINIC’s guide to taking part in the Federal Rulemaking Process

Information and action items created by Sr. Ann Scholz, SSND the Associate Director of Social Mission for the Leadership Conference of Women Religious