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Trump Signs Bullshit Executive Order That  Claims to Fix His Own Mess on Immigration; It Doesn’t.

Despite Trump’s claiming for weeks that he can’t do anything on family separation due to “the law” or “Congress” because “democrats have the power,” Trump has now signed an executive order that he says will end the practice. Not only is this a lie, but it could make things much worse. 

What Does the Executive Order Say?

The order is called “Affording Congress an Opportunity to Address Family Seperation,” (and yes, that typo is in the order). To start, the order DOES NOT stop family separations at the border, however we will likely see this end on such a wide-scale. Instead the decision will allow for children to be held indefinitely. It will also:

  • Gives other government departments the power to house immigrants, including the military.
  • Commands Jeff Sessions to ask the federal courts to amend the Flores settlement to allow families to be detained indefinitely (the executive order will be violating the settlement unless this happens)
  • Directs the DoJ to prioritize cases for detained families. This has happened before and resulted in other cases to be further backlogged and families were not given due process.

Congress will need to work fast to come up with solutions because this order directing violates the Flores settlement of 1997 which ruled you cannot detain children indefinitely. This order is unlikely to hold up in courts specifically because of this violation. 

What is the Flores Settlement and Why Does Trump Want to Reverse It?

The administration has placed blame on Flores v. Reno, or the “Flores settlement” for forcing their hand to separate children from their parents. Republicans want to overrule this decision that gives immigrant children more protections and instead detain children with their parents (who can be held in detention centers for months and years).

The original settlement addressed the issue of mistreatment against these children after Jenny Flores filed a suit due the treatment and abuse she received in detention. She was strip-searched regularly, sharing quarters with adult men and women unrelated to her, and was not allowed to be released with her aunt who she came to the US with. The court decision set standards for minors stating that they must be kept in the “least restrictive conditions possible,” and must be provided with necessities like food, running water, and medical attention. Throughout the years there have been some changes, such as requiring the Office of Refugee Resettlement to hold unaccompanied minors and not allowing accompanied minors to be hold for more than 20 days. 

Trump has wanted the power to hold families and minors indefinitely from the beginning in what is often dubbed “catch and release.” Trump has called these protections “loopholes,” and has talked about his desire to detain all immigrants until their cases are resolved AKA indefinite holding. Besides indefinite holding, they are also considering “expedited” legal process for minors and families to minimize their time in detention. However, this has been attempted before and the pro-bono lawyers working in family detention said it was impossible for families to get proper due process. 

There was only one lawyer for hundreds of immigrants, the lawyers were not allowed to speak during hearings, they couldn’t meet with their clients, judges weren’t telling immigrants about the legal basis for their decisions and they were denying textbook asylum claims. Asylum officers and border patrol agents were also failing to communicate with detainees, they would lie on their asylum applications, they wouldn’t let detainees leave after passing screenings, and they tried to stop lawyers from using phones, wifi, printers, and computers when helping with someone’s case.

This is About Trump’s Immigration Bill and Border Wall

This move to end the Flores settlement and allow children to be held indefinitely is EXACTLY what Trump and his administration has wanted. The “compromise immigration bill” that his administration helped draft had this exact move in it. And don’t forget that getting rid of the Flores settlement wouldn’t just allow children to be held indefinitely but it would get rid of ALL requirements and protections when housing children. 

It’s becoming more unlikely this bill will pass despite the GOP attempting to sell this bill on the false claim it will make family separations unlawful. However, Trump is still pushing for Congress to vote on one of the two immigration bills that he has promised to sign, the other being the “Securing America’s Future Act”. 

It’s unclear where things would go from here. If one of these bills passes the House, it will still have to go through the Senate which still gives you time to contact your congressmen and tell them what you think of these bills. However, Trump and his administration have been using these separations as leverage to get one of these bills passed. Specifically, because they will give him $25 BILLION for his border wall and makes it harder to seek asylum in the US (and in many cases makes it okay to send them away), and ends certain immigration pathways such as family-based and diversity visas. If these bills fail (which they should) then who knows how Trump will react and what decisions he might make. Don’t lose focus just because Trump says everything is okay now. 

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