HOUSTON — A federal judge on Thursday extended the deadline for the release of migrant children from detention, as advocates for detained families feared the government would create what they called a new form of family separation. U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee in Los Angeles granted a request for a 10-day extension to release children held in family detention centers longer than 20 days. In her ruling last month setting the Friday deadline, Gee said the family detention centers “are ‘on fire’ and there is no more time for half measures.”Gee oversees a settlement known as the Flores agreement that governs the treatment of immigrant children in U.S. custody. Her ruling did not extend to parents detained with their children. Lawyers for many of the roughly 300 detained parents and children have warned parents may be forced to choose between releasing their children to sponsors — and staying in ICE detention themselves — or waiving their children’s rights to release granted by Gee’s order.

Source: International New York Times July 16, 2020 21:56 UTC