Illegal immigration continues to be a problem, even if the media has moved on. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that they are ending the Flores settlement, which was the whole cause of children being separated from their parents.

Acting DHS Secretary Kevin McAleenan announced the changes today, which will allow children to be held with parents while going through the court system.

According to DHS, Flores had a sunset clause, but it has never been used.

The FSA always contained provisions for its implementation in regulations and its termination – originally, it was to remain in effect no more than five years; and then, in 2001, the parties agreed it would terminate after a final rulemaking. Beginning in 2005, prior administrations repeatedly announced plans for a rule. No prior administration, however, issued a final rule. With this achievement now complete, the FSA will terminate by its own terms, and the Trump Administration will continue to work for a better immigration system.”

Essentially, the can got kicked further down the road by the Bush and Obama administrations, and no one bothered to – or wanted to – finalize some rules for what happens when children enter the country illegally, with or without parents or guardians. Of course it’s obvious why previous administrations didn’t want to do this: the Bush administration knew it was a political hot potato they didn’t want to handle, and the Obama administration was perfectly happy with the idea of “catch and release.”

There are two major questions here. First, DHS is assuming that the announcement that children will stay in detention with their families will deter future crossings. Will that actually be a deterrent? Will having a child with you now guarantee a fast-track through the courts? Better accommodations in detention facilities? Better treatment in any way or shape? If bringing a child with you is still seen as a net positive, even if “catch and release” is ended, how does that deter people from taking children with them across the border – not to mention the dangerous trek to get there?

Second, where will these families be put? DHS doesn’t exactly have the facilities to hold the current massive influx, which has been an ongoing problem. And Health and Human Services (HHS) would still have jurisdiction over the care of unaccompanied minor illegals that come across the border.

First the basics:
DHS (Homeland Sec) houses detained adult and family migrants.
HHS (Health&Human Services) houses migrant children who are *alone*. That does include a few who are separated, but mostly kids/teens who come here by themselves. 2/

— Tal Kopan (@TalKopan) August 21, 2019

HHS has tried hard to distinguish itself from DHS’ immigration enforcement (see: Any Jonathan White testimony on the Hill) because without these shelters, where else would migrant children who come here alone go?
But the systems are still linked by law. 5/5

— Tal Kopan (@TalKopan) August 21, 2019

So let’s just say that while the new rules sound great in a perfect world, border enforcement is definitely not happening in a perfect world. And you know exactly what the left is going to say. Why, it’s almost AS IF they weren’t really worried about keeping families together – they just want “catch and release!”

Overall, this is just the latest example of how the Trump administration continues to manipulate the law and violate human rights. The bottom line is that migrant children DO NOT belong in detention and the camps need to be closed down immediately.

— Families Belong Together (@fams2gether) August 21, 2019

How utterly predictable. We either have borders that we enforce or we don’t. We know which side the left falls on – and of course this will be challenged in the courts, as other immigration laws have been. DHS is trying to fix something while waiting for Congress to help. It remains to be seen if this change is actually helpful, but we can all agree that nobody is happy with what the status quo has been.

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