Ninth Circuit Flores Decision Puts Biden in a Fix
The more that come, the more that will come
By Andrew R. Arthur on January 11, 2021
On December 29, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an opinion in Flores v. Rosen, the latest chapter in the Flores saga (Flores III, for reasons I will explain below). That decision will end up putting the Biden administration in a fix as it relates to controlling illegal migration over the Southwest border.
History Pre-Flores
Some historical perspective is in order. In 1985, two organizations sued the former INS on behalf of alien children who were being detained by the agency. The purpose of the suit, as NPR has explained, was to "challeng[e] procedures regarding the detention, treatment, and release of children."
That case went through a number of levels of judicial review, including by the Supreme Court in March 1993 on the question of whether the-then existent regulation limiting the release of unaccompanied alien children (UAC) violated the Due Process Clause.
That regulation provided for the release of UAC only to their parents, close relatives, or legal guardians, "except in unusual and compelling circumstances". If not released under this provision, an INS official — the "Juvenile Coordinator" — was required to find "suitable placement ... in a facility designated for the occupancy of juveniles."
https://cis.org/Arthur/Ninth-Circuit-Flores-Decision-Puts-Biden-Fix
