Photo by The Atlantic
Earlier this summer, the Law Foundation was part of a legal team that obtained a positive federal appeals court ruling determining that undocumented immigrant children detained by federal authorities must be given adequate living conditions, including access to clean water, proper heating and cooling, and appropriate sleeping conditions. Co-counsel on the case included the Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, and La Raza Centro Legal.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, ruled that immigration authorities must abide by the 1997 Flores Settlement Agreement, named for a teenage girl who brought the original case, that established standards for the detention, release, and treatment of minors in immigration custody.
Law Foundation attorney, Kate Manning, an expert on child welfare, argued for improved conditions on behalf of some of the children who were in detention and served as the Law Foundation’s lead on this case. The Law Foundation is thankful to its partners and is proud to have worked together to ensure that immigrant children across the country are treated with dignity and justice under the law.