SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — In what migrant advocates are calling “a major victory for the rights and dignity of immigrant children,” a federal court struck down the Trump’s administration’s bid to end a law that mandates children held in federal custody be housed in humane and safe conditions.

The Flores Agreement of 1997, requires the federal government to treat children in immigration custody humanely, hold them in the least restrictive settings, prioritize release to family, and provide access to basic necessities such as clean water, food, medical care, and safe, sanitary living conditions. 

Last Friday, a judge ruled that children, whether accompanied by their families or arriving alone, are entitled to these basic human rights and blocked the government from detaining children indefinitely in inhumane, unlicensed, or dangerous facilities.

U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee issued her ruling, finding that, “the court remains unconvinced — There is nothing new under the sun regarding the facts or the law. Thus, it is the Government that continues to bind itself to the Flores Settlement Agreement by failing to fulfill its side of the Parties’ bargain. In light of the foregoing, the Court again DENIES Defendants’ MTT.”

“The Court’s vindication of Flores is a victory that belongs to each and every immigrant child currently detained by our government,” said Sergio Perez, executive director of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law. “Children should be free and, barring that, they should be cared for in environments that respect their basic human rights and essential needs. So long as that is not the case, Flores provides an essential avenue for transparency and accountability.”

According to Perez, the decision comes at a critical moment as immigrant children and families are increasingly subjected to prolonged detention in isolated, prison-like conditions.

“The government’s attempt to dismantle the Flores Agreement, which it has repeatedly violated would have thrown the door open to mass, indefinite detention of children without any enforceable standards for their care.”

Perez believes the Trump administration will not give up seeking to overturn the Flores Agreement.

“I expect the Trump administration will move to appeal this federal judge’s ruling and that appeal will wind its way through the courts and that eventually will be at the Supreme Court where this agreement will really be tested.”