Durbin, Duckworth, Bicameral Congressional Leaders Call On Ninth Circuit To Uphold Protections For Migrant Children In Flores Amicus Brief

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, and Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-12); U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA); and U.S. Representatives Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-10), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-19), Joaquin Castro (D-TX-20), and Veronica Escobar (D-TX-16), today led 113 of their colleagues in submitting an Amicus Brief in Flores v Barr. The Brief urges the Ninth Circuit to reject the Trump Administration’s latest attempt to gut the Flores Settlement Agreement, which provides vital, long-standing protections for children. Flores is key to ensuring there are minimum health and safety requirements for the custody of children.

The Members wrote: “Congress enacted [the Homeland Security Act and the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008] to ensure the safety and well-being of migrant children and to set forth specific procedures for the screening, processing, and custody of those children. The regulations, by contrast, deprive children of access to those statutory protections and do not comport with the text and history of those statutes, or with Congress’s plan in passing them.”

In addition to Durbin, Duckworth, Schumer, Merkley, and Feinstein, the Brief was signed by U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Michael F. Bennet (D-CO), Cory A. Booker (D-NJ), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), Robert P. Casey (D-PA), Christopher A. Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Kamala D. Harris (D-CA), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT), Edward Markey (D-MA), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Bernard Sanders (D-VT), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

In addition to Pelosi, Nadler, Lofgren, Castro, and Escobar, the Brief was signed by U.S. Representatives Pete Aguilar (CA-31), Nanette Barragán (CA-44), Karen Bass (CA-37), Earl Blumenauer (OR-3), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-1), Brendan Boyle (PA-2), Julia Brownley (CA-26),Cheri Bustos (IL-17), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), Tony Cárdenas (CA-29), Sean Casten (IL-6), Judy Chu (CA-27), David Cicilline (RI-1), Gilbert Ray Jr. Cisneros (CA-39), Katherine Clark (MA-5), Yvette Clarke (NY-9), Emmanuel Cleaver (MO-5), Steve Cohen (TN-9), Luis Correa (CA-46), Philips Dean (MN-3), Peter DeFazio (OR-4), Rosa DeLauro (CT-3), Val Demings (FL-10), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11), Ted Deutch (FL-22), Debbie Dingell (MI-12), Eliot Engel (NY-16), Anna Eshoo (CA-18), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Ruben Gallego (AZ-7), Jesús "Chuy" Garcia (IL-4), Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Al Green (TX-9) , Raul Grijalva (AZ-3), Debra Haaland (NM-1), Alcee Hastings (FL-20), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), Pramila Jayapal (WA-7), Henry C. “Hank” Jr. Johnson (GA-4), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Derek Kilmer (WA-6), Mike Levin (CA-49), John Lewis (GA-5), Ted Lieu (CA-33), Alan Lowenthal (CA-47), Ben Luján (NM-3), Betty McCollum (MN-4), James McGovern (MA-2), Jerry McNerney (CA-9), Grace Meng (NY-6), Gwen Moore (WI-4), Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (Fl-26), Grace Napolitano (CA-32), Joe Neguse (CO-2), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-At Large), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Ilhan Omar (MN-5), Jimmy Panetta (CA-20), Chellie Pingree (ME-1), Mark Pocan (WI-2), Jamie Raskin (MD-8), Kathleen Rice (NY-4), Raul Ruiz (CA-36), Linda Sánchez (CA-38), Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-5), Jan Schakowsky (IL-9), José E. Serrano (NY-15), Donna Shalala (FL-27), Albio Sires (NJ-8), Adam Smith (WA-9), Darren Soto (FL-9), Jackie Speier (CA-14), Greg Stanton (AZ-9), Eric Swalwell (CA-15), Mark Takano (CA-41), Bennie Thompson (MS-2), Dina Titus (NV-1), Rashida Tlaib (MI-13), Norma Torres (CA-35), Juan Vargas (CA-51), Marc Veasey (TX-33), Filemon Vela (TX-34), Nydia Velázquez (NY-7), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Peter Welch (VT-At Large), John Yarmuth (KY-3).

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