DeLauro Statement on Federal Court Ruling Trump Administration in Violation Flores Settlement Standards of Care for Unaccompanied Children

WASHINGTON, DC — (April 25, 2020) Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee that funds the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), today released the following statement after the United States District Court in Los Angeles ruled that the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were in violation of the 1997 Flores Settlement—which established standards for the care of unaccompanied children.

"I welcome the federal court decision protecting children in our government's care from the deadly coronavirus pandemic. Ensuring kids are kept safe from COVID-19 by expeditiously placing them with sponsors clearly aligns with the ORR's mission. Beyond the trauma unaccompanied children too often face through unlawful and unreasonably long stays in ORR facilities, keeping kids in settings where proper social distancing—as established by medical professionals—is not possible is consigning them to illness or even death. That is unconscionable. The Trump administration must immediately take action to avoid inflicting further harm on these kids, and I will be monitoring the process closely."

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