By CINDY CARCAMO, l.a. times july 25, 2015
A federal judge has ruled that hundreds of immigrant women and children held in detention facilities must be released as soon as possible after finding that their detention was in serious violation of an earlier court settlement.
U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee in California ruled late Friday that children and their mothers — many part of an exodus of people fleeing from violence in Central America — no longer can be locked up. Gee found federal officials had violated an 18-year-old court settlement regarding the detention of migrant children.
See the most-read national stories
Gee blasted federal officials in a 25-page ruling, stating that children had been held in substandard conditions at two detention centers in Texas.
“It is astonishing that Defendants have enacted a policy requiring such expensive infrastructure without more evidence to show that it would be compliant with an Agreement that has been in effect for nearly 20 years…,” Gee wrote in her decision.
The ruling is a major setback for Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, who opened family detention facilities after the U.S.-Mexico border saw a significant influx of children and their parents — most from Central America who illegally crossed the Southwest border — last summer.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are still reviewing the court’s ruling to “determine appropriate next steps,” an ICE spokeswoman said.
It’s unclear whether ICE will appeal the ruling.
Currently, the Obama administration is detaining 1,700 parents and children at three detention facilities, two in Texas and one in Pennsylvania.
The judge gave Homeland Security officials until Aug. 3 to devise a plan for the release of mothers and children.
The ruling comes about a month after federal officials announced a new policy that would allow hundreds of immigrant women and children to go free on bond if they could prove they are eligible for asylum or other type of immigration relief.
The Obama administration’s detention policy has drawn controversy amid complaints of poor conditions, abuses and attempted suicides.
San Francisco slaying upends immigration debate in 2016 presedential race
More migrants will avoid deportation under Obama's new policy, report says
