What Immigration Attorneys Are Telling Their Clients Now: ‘Brace Yourselves’
Immigration lawyers are dealing with a lot right now: large caseloads, court challenges, regulations in dispute. One of the most significant things in flux is the Flores settlement agreement, the 1997 consent decree that has governed the conditions under which migrant children can be detained. Among other things, a 2015 interpretation of that agreement calls on the government to release children into family custody or a licensed program after 20 days. On August 21, the Trump administration announced a rule change to Flores that would lift the 20-day cap and expand family detention.
Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have challenged the change in court, and it must still be reviewed by U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee, in California, before it goes into effect. For lawyers working with
