SPLC: Indefinite Detention of Migrant Children Cannot Stand
Rule Would Allow Agencies and Detention Centers Exposed for Abusive Practices to Determine Conditions of Custody for Children
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) issued the following statement by Melissa Crow, senior supervising attorney with the SPLC’s Immigrant Justice Project, in response to a new Trump administration rule that would give the government authority to indefinitely detain migrant families, including children, and determine the conditions under which they are held:
“This effort to punish innocent children cannot stand. It is unthinkable that the same agencies whose failure to meet even the most basic standards of care has resulted in lasting physical and psychological damage to those in their charge would now hold untold numbers indefinitely.
“Children and families do not belong in cages. They definitely do not belong in detention centers exposed for abusive practices under the care of an administration that has publicly argued against providing them basic sanitary items.
“While this rule is being challenged in the courts, Congress must do everything in its power to enforce the Flores standards that this rule would replace and ensure that officials who violate them are held accountable.”
