Trump admin seeks to keep immigrant families in detention indefinitely

The proposed federal regulations would notably revoke the court case known as the Flores Settlement Agreement, which governs how undocumented children can be treated in custody. The regulations are scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on Friday.

The move comes on the heels of the administration's decision this spring to separate families at the border as part of its "zero tolerance" prosecution policy, which resulted in more than 2,500 children being separated from their parents for weeks to months at a time.

The administration has targeted the Flores settlement as one of the main sources of their frustration with the immigration system, specifically the requirement to release children who arrive as part of families from detention within 20 days. After trying unsuccessfully to bypass the requirement in court, Thursday's move would take the issue out of the court's hands.

The more than 200-page rule would have sweeping implications for the immigration detention system in the US and is likely to face swift resistance from advocates who brought the Flores case and those who have supported it.

One of the biggest proposed changes would create a federal license system to allow for detention centers that could hold families. The administration argues that it is the state-based licensing system that is causing issues that would restrict family detention.

In doing so, the government argues that it would allow them to keep families in detention for the duration of their immigration court case. Those cases can take years to finish, though the administration notes they move faster when the immigrants are still in detention. Being able to keep the families detained would expedite the overall process, they argue.

In a statement, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen labeled the settlement as a "pull factor" that drives immigrants to the US illegally.

"Today, legal loopholes significantly hinder the Department's ability to appropriately detain and promptly remove family units that have no legal basis to remain in the country," Nielsen said. "This rule addresses one of the primary pull factors for illegal immigration and allows the federal government to enforce immigration laws as passed by Congress."

The arguments for the rule are similar to the case the administration has made in court before Judge Dolly Gee, who oversees the settlement. Gee has rejected those arguments in her courtroom.

"This rule would allow for detention at (family detention centers) for the pendency of immigration proceedings ... in order to permit families to be detained together and parents not be separated from their children," the rule states. "It is important that family detention be a viable option not only for the numerous benefits that family unity provides for both the family and the administration of the INA, but also due to the significant and ongoing influx of adults who have made the choice to enter the United States illegally with juveniles or make the dangerous overland journey to the border with juveniles, a practice that puts juveniles at significant risk of harm."

By formally issuing these regulations, the government could effectively take the issue out of the court's hands entirely. That's because the settlement agreement was only temporary, pending formal regulations.

But it's not clear the plan will work.

The settlement requires that the regulations "not be inconsistent with the terms" of the settlement, meaning that the plaintiffs in the original case would be able to bring a legal challenge if they disagree. That would likely end up in front of Judge Gee once again.

This story is breaking and will be updated.

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