DOJ filed motion to terminate Flores Settlement Agreement, eliminating court-ordered protections for immigrant children in custody

On May 22, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to terminate the Flores Settlement Agreement, a 1997 court settlement establishing minimum standards of care for immigrant children in federal immigration custody. The motion, filed by Attorney General Pam Bondi's Justice Department, sought to eliminate protections that have been in force for nearly three decades, including requirements for adequate food, water, sanitation, and medical care, and a 20-day cap on the detention of children. DOJ argued termination was warranted because post-settlement regulations had incorporated the settlement's goals and because the Supreme Court's 2022 ruling in Garland v. Aleman-Gonzalez supported the government's position.

The Flores Settlement originated from a 1985 class action lawsuit — Jenny L. Flores v. Meese — on behalf of unaccompanied immigrant children detained by federal immigration authorities. Supervised by U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee of the Central District of California, it remains the primary binding constraint on how the federal government may detain children in immigration custody. The first Trump administration made identical termination arguments in 2019 and again in a regulatory proceeding; Judge Gee rejected those attempts in December 2020, finding the proposed regulations fell far short of the settlement's protections and that the government had not demonstrated substantial compliance.

Judge Gee denied the May 2025 motion in August 2025 on the same grounds, finding again that the government had not demonstrated substantial compliance with the settlement's terms and that no changed circumstances justified termination. The government subsequently appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The motion was filed as part of a broader second-term effort to reduce judicial oversight of immigration detention, consistent with simultaneous administration moves to expand expedited removal authority, terminate Temporary Protected Status for multiple nationalities, and eliminate due process protections for noncitizens in removal proceedings.