Flores v. Lynch

In 1985, a class action was initiated against the federal government (defendant) to challenge the conditions under which alien minors were detained and held by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). The court certified a plaintiff class (plaintiffs) consisting of persons under the age of 18 who faced legal detention by the INS. In 1997, a settlement was reached between the parties governing the treatment of minors in INS detention. Two of the main provisions of the settlement were a requirement that the INS quickly transfer any detained minor to nonsecure, licensed facilities providing appropriate care, and the creation of a presumption in favor of release of minors and family reunification. Following 9/11, immigration procedures were tightened, and the INS was abolished and replaced by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) within the Department of Homeland Security. In 2014, a surge of undocumented aliens, primarily from Central America, began arriving at the southern border. In addressing this surge, ICE placed many children, both unaccompanied and accompanied, in secured, unlicensed facilities, in violation of the settlement, which remained in effect. The plaintiff class filed a motion in federal district court in 2015 to enforce the settlement. The government argued that the settlement only applied to unaccompanied children, not to children who were detained with family members. The district court upheld the plaintiff class’s motion, holding that the settlement applied to both unaccompanied and accompanied children, and further held that the settlement required the release of a minor’s accompanying parent with the released minor if that parent was not a flight or safety risk. The government appealed.