A federal judge in Los Angeles has ordered U.S. border officials to swiftly process and relocate migrant children from makeshift open-air sites in Southern California where appalling conditions have been documented by advocates. Judge Dolly Gee of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California issued a 12-page order on Wednesday stating that the children, although not formally in U.S. custody, are entitled to the rights and protections provided to migrant minors under the Flores Settlement Agreement. The agreement obligates the U.S. government to offer basic services to migrant children, including housing them in “safe and sanitary” facilities. Gee determined that even though the migrant children at the outdoor staging areas in Southern California have not been officially processed, they are still under U.S. legal custody since their movements are controlled by Border Patrol agents.
The case revolves around seven sites near San Diego and Jacumba Hot Springs in Southern California where migrants have been waiting for hours or days before being transferred by Border Patrol agents to detention facilities for formal processing. Advocates have alleged that Border Patrol is directing migrants to these sites. Reports from advocates who visited the open-air locations indicated that migrant children there often do not receive adequate food beyond crackers. Some sites lacked the necessary number of dumpsters and portable toilets, and those that were available were described as “overflowing” and “unusable” by Gee. The unsanitary conditions forced children to relieve themselves outdoors, contributing to a foul smell and trash strewn about.
Over the years, Judge Gee has consistently found the U.S. government, under both Republican and Democratic administrations, to be in violation of the Flores agreement. Customs and Border Protection stated that they are reviewing Gee’s ruling and affirmed their commitment to promptly transporting vulnerable individuals and children encountered at the border to their facilities. Advocates for migrants welcomed Gee’s decision, with Neha Desai, an attorney at the National Center for Youth Law, highlighting the government’s responsibility to care for children in Open Air Detention Sites (OADS) as recognized by the court. Border Patrol has observed a significant rise in migrant crossings in Southern California, with nearly 152,000 apprehensions recorded in the San Diego sector in the first five months of fiscal year 2024, marking a 72% increase from the previous fiscal year. In 2024, the San Diego sector has been the second busiest for illegal crossings, trailing behind the Tucson sector in Arizona.
