The Angels.- A federal judge on Friday approved President Joe Biden’s administration’s request to end part of a nearly three-decade-old agreement that provides judicial oversight of how the government cares for migrant children in its custody.
U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee ruled that special court oversight can end at the Department of Health and Human Services, which takes custody of migrant children after they have been in Border Patrol custody for up to 72 hours. They are placed in a vast network of shelters and are typically released to close relatives.
The Justice Department argued that new safeguards that take effect Monday meet, and in some respects exceed, the standards set out in the court settlement. The judge agreed for the most part, but made exceptions for certain types of facilities for children with more complex needs.
Lawyers for migrant children strongly opposed the federal government’s request, arguing that it has not developed a regulatory framework in states that have revoked the licenses of facilities that care for migrant children or might do so in the future, such as Texas. and Florida. The judge rejected those concerns, and affirmed that the new regulations are sufficient to replace judicial supervision in these unlicensed centers.
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