The fight to end the detention of immigrant children in the United States is entering a dramatic new phase. From January until October of 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is detaining an average of 3,800 minors in family detention. The Flores Settlement undergirds all detention of immigrant families with its core legal principle – namely, that immigrant families cannot be detained indefinitely. It was drafted in the wake of a class action addressing the rights of immigrant youth. The far-reaching effects of this settlement are still being felt today, especially regarding policies on family detention under both President Trump and President Biden.
The Flores Settlement, first signed into law in 1997, mandates the quick release of children from detention. They have to be released within 20 days, and the length of their confinement is highly constrained. This issue has attracted some of the fiercest debates over immigrant rights. It sheds some much-needed light on the inhumane treatment of children by the U.S. immigration system. During his term, the Trump administration sought to have important provisions of that settlement overturned in court. They promoted a much more flexible approach to family detention, but they faced crushing legal defeats.
The Current State of Family Detention
As of late 2025, ICE is still detaining children as young as one or two years old. Advocates should be alarmed with the cruel and devastating conditions these young minors experience. The South Texas Detention Facility in Dilley, Texas, is the largest family detention center in the country with 2,400 beds. It has grown to become a potent touchstone of the controversial family detention policy. Critics contend that these facilities are incapable of providing adequate health care. Most importantly, they argue that they are not able to provide a safe and enriching environment for children.
“What you’re seeing is places with no medical care, places where the lights never go out, places where the children are not allowed to go outside, places where the food is abhorrent and places where people are not treated with the dignity required by the law.” – Perez
More alarmingly, reports have disclosed that a majority of these confined minors are not caught at the border, but instead within the nation. More than 2,600 of these youths were minors, with ICE officers focusing on those already living in the U.S. This change is symptomatic of a recent national trend from immigration enforcement that advocates have long claimed wreaks havoc on vulnerable communities.
Historical Context and Policy Changes
Not surprisingly therefore, family detention became a major controversy during the administration of president Barack Obama. Soon after taking office, he started to dismantle these family detention practices. In 2014, he did a 180°, massively expanded family detention in order to deter Central American families fleeing violence from seeking asylum in the U.S. The policy’s purpose was to dissuade illegal immigration, overwhelmingly condemned after it harmed young children.
The Trump administration escalated these practices exponentially with its nationwide implementation of a “family separation” policy. This punitive tactic funneled parents through criminal jails and detention centers while sending their children into government-run shelters, sometimes separated by thousands of miles. The consequences of this policy are still echoing today. As a result, millions are on the frontlines of this fight, and they are taking to the courts and to Capitol Hill to #DefendAllFamilies.
“This is not people showing up at the border at this point.” – Wolozin
As advocates point out, many of those held in detention have legal rights to reside in the United States. This reality complicates the present national conversation about local enforcement of immigration law. “It’s people being arrested who live in the United States, who have permission to live in the United States,” Wolozin stated, highlighting the increasingly precarious status of immigrants within the system.
The Biden Administration’s Approach
In 2021, President Joe Biden stopped detaining immigrant families, fulfilling a key promise from his multifaceted immigration reform agenda. This decision represented a huge turn. It moved in the opposite direction from punitive policies targeting immigrant families and adopted a more humane approach rooted in protecting their rights. The Biden administration’s move has been met with positive and negative responses. Advocates are working hard to lay the groundwork for long, sweeping reform to address systemic challenges embedded within our immigration system.
Worries persist over the ongoing deportation threats faced by immigrant children and their families. Advocates argue that existing policies do not adequately address the needs of those seeking asylum or refuge in the United States. Many people agree that more meaningful reforms would prioritize safety and dignity for everyone who interacts with the immigration enforcement system.
“They’re not dangerous. They are really trying, by and large, to follow the ever-changing rules. This is totally, 100% unnecessary and 100% designed to hurt kids.” – Wolozin