Thursday, June 21, 2018

By Its Terms, Trump’s Executive Order Restores Catch-and-Release

Leah Millis/Reuters
Earlier today a number of news outlets reported that Trump was preparing to issue an executive order that would flout existing law by mandating indefinite family detention. It appears those reports were wrong. The order is out, and under the most plausible reading it actually implements a temporary (and perhaps indefinite) implementation of a catch-and-release policy for illegal-immigrant families with minor children. Here’s how:
The order declares that the secretary of homeland security “shall, to the extent permitted by law . . . maintain custody of alien families during the pendency of any criminal improper entry or immigration proceedings involving their members.” Currently, the consent decree in Flores defines the “extent permitted by law.” In fact, the administration acknowledges this reality by expressly requiring Sessions to seek modification of the agreement:
The Attorney General shall promptly file a request with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to modify the Settlement Agreement in Flores v. Sessions, CV 85-4544 (“Flores settlement”), in a manner that would permit the Secretary, under present resource constraints, to detain alien families together throughout the pendency of criminal proceedings for improper entry or any removal or other immigration proceedings.
In other words, the administration will comply with the law, and until it’s changed, that law is set by Flores. Trump is right back in the Obama box. He doesn’t want to separate families, but he can’t keep them together beyond 20 days. Thus, we’re back to catch-and-release.
Read the rest from David French HERE.

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