RPT - Lawyer Says Expects Lawsuits Against US Move To End Limits On Migrant Children Detention

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd August, 2019) Lawsuits are expected to be filed within 24 hours to challenge the Trump administration's new policy to end a 1997 agreement that limits the detention of migrant children in US custody to 20 days, US immigration attorney Allen Orr Jr. told Sputnik.

Earlier in the day, the Trump administration announced that it will implement a new rule allowing for the termination of the 1997 Flores Settlement Agreement that regulates the detention of migrant children and imposes the 20-day detention limit.

"I expect lawsuits filed as soon as tomorrow to stop the new policy," Orr said regarding the new Trump administration rule on Wednesday.

Orr said US courts should be able to make a quick decision to block the Trump administration's decision.

The new rule will take effect in 60 days after being published in the Federal Register on Friday.

Trump administration officials have called the Flores Settlement Agreement a "loophole" that encourages migrants to bring children with them when they cross the US border so that they are more likely to be released in the United States after a brief detention and less likely to face deportation.

Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan said the new rule would deter the heavy flow of US-bound migrant families that are straining federal sources at the US-Mexico border.

However, Orr said the new rule is not a solution and will not deter the flow of asylum-seeking migrants, but is part of a political game to please the Trump base of supporters and a sign that Congress needs to step up and take back control of US immigration policy.

Since Trump took office in 2017, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has awarded more than $480 million in federal funds to GEO and more than $331 to CoreCivic, which are for-profit private prison companies used to operate immigrant detention facilities, Orr added.