Immigration Reform news 2015: Judge orders for release of undocumented children in detention centers
In the wake of debates on the Immigration Reform, a U.S. judge ruled last Friday that undocumented mothers and immigrant children be released from family detentions immediately.
Los Angeles District judge Dolly Gee issued the order as a reaffirmation to a July ruling that stopped the United States from detaining minors who crossed the borders illegally.
The ruling puts Barack Obama's administration at a timeline as it has only until October 23 to release "without unnecessary delay" hundreds of immigrant children and some of their mothers who have been detained in family centers.
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According to the Los Angeles Times, judge Gee declared that the Department of Homeland Security had no rights to legally detain undocumented children aged 18 and below in centers for more than 72 hours as this violates the standards laid out by the 1997 Flores v. Meese settlement.
Meanwhile, representatives for the Justice Department clarified that the judge also cannot implement her decision on the centers as there have been considerable improvements in the facilities that are now applying short-term policies.
The representing lawyers also noted that applying certain limits to the detention standards "would heighten the risk of another surge in illegal migration ... by incentivizing adults to bring children with them on their dangerous journey as a means to avoid detention and gain access to the interior of the United States."
While the Obama administration seems to stand by its firm decision to keep the detention centers in operation, immigration reform advocates have filed complaints against several centers, and more than 170 House reps in the Democratic party have also announced that they want the centers to closed down.
Democratic Representative Zoe Lofgren said, "It's disappointing that the administration continues to push to jail women and children seeking asylum."
Lofgren added that the solution to the problem is to take the necessary steps into bringing the nation's "detention policy in line with the Flores settlement agreement."
