特朗普政府在33岁的斯蒂芬米勒的移民计划的幌子下，采取了另一步措施取消对已经存在近二十年的被拘留流动儿童的保护措施，这只能被称为新常态。这些行动立即在民主党界引起了轩然大波，但右翼相对没有受到批评。

       政府发布了一项规则变更，将限制移民未成年人的拘留时间，并限制对残忍和不卫生条件的保障。这些变化还可能结束外部第三方检查员监测移民营地内部情况的能力。

       特朗普总统2020年竞选连任的快速反应主任安德鲁·克拉克发了一封电子邮件，引用了一些总统候选人的话，称移民家庭必须在一起。他认为，这条规则就是这样做的。

       “今天的新闻应该受到2020年民主党人的欢迎，他们去年明确表示，在涉及非法移民问题时，将家庭聚集在一起应该是政府的首要任务，”他写道。

       但不出所料，总统候选人正在反对这一变化。加州参议员卡马拉哈里斯周三在推特上问道，“如何更长时间地拘留家庭使我们的边境安全或阻止跨国帮派 - 国土安全部应该花时间做些什么？” 她提供了自己的答案：“事实并非如此。”

       参议员伊丽莎白沃伦回应哈里斯的不满。“弗洛雷斯协议规定移民儿童不得被拘留20天以上，”她在Twitter上写道，“今天，特朗普政府宣布计划推翻弗洛雷斯 - 让成千上万的儿童处于危险之中。我们必须打击这个“。

       如果得到联邦法官的批准，新规定将在60天后生效，将为移民控股单位的条件制定标准，但将取消对监禁家庭的20天限制。家庭现在将被送到“家庭住宅中心”，他们将留在那里，直到他们的移民案件被听到。

       病例通常在90天内得到解决，但有时可能会拖延多年。在美国有大约850,000个移民案件正在等待听证会，全国不到450名法官听取了这些案件。根据锡拉丘兹大学的交易记录访问信息交换机构，法官平均需要713天才能审理案件。

       “对儿童的拘留可能导致创伤，自杀感情以及接触危险的医疗保健，”人权观察代理华盛顿副主任克拉拉•朗说。“没有多少时间被拘留对儿童是安全的，长期拘留特别有害。”

       在检查员发现污染，情绪低落的儿童无法刷牙或淋浴之后不久，政府试图证明不向儿童提供肥皂和牙刷。

       “我们无法相信让六个孩子在其监视下死亡的同一个政府，并认为孩子们不需要像肥皂和牙刷这样的基本必需品，能够自我调节，”Jess Morales Rocketto说道。家庭属于一起，在一份声明中。“这条规则将把更多家庭分开，并在此过程中对无数其他家庭造成创伤。政府需要立即与家人团聚，而不是通过有限的食物，床位，厕所或医疗服务来扩大他们入狱的父母和孩子的数量。”

       在周三上午的新闻发布会上，国土安全部代理部长凯文麦卡伦南为政府的决定辩护。他说，家庭“没有意图”被搁置“很长一段时间”，而ICE打算以符合美国价值观的“尊严，尊重和特别关注”来对待移民。

       在弗洛雷斯协议是由联邦法律设立大约二十年前，以此来设定的准则和标准为外来青年进入美国的待遇。

       上个月，哥伦比亚大学法学院移民权利诊所所长Elora Mukherjee被允许接受因弗洛雷斯协议规定而被关押的70名流动儿童。她向国会作证说，这些中心人满为患，不卫生。

       根据美国国土安全部的数据，一百多页的规则将“允许终止弗洛雷斯和解协议” 。

       “我们以前从未了解到700名儿童被关押在为104或106名成年人建造的设施中，”她说。她讲的是那些不能说出自己名字但只重复“我很害怕”的孩子的故事，以及没有尿布的婴儿。她说有些孩子闻起来很难闻，以至于无法接近他们。

       “我们以前从未与在海关和边境巡逻队被拘留的儿童会面一周，更不用说几个星期和近一个月了。我们以前从未有过直接干预让患病的婴儿入院，”她作证说。
 

TRUMP CAMPAIGN TO DEMOCRATS ON FLORES AGREEMENT CHANGE: THIS IS WHAT YOU WANTED

       In what can only be described as the new normal, the Trump administration, under the guise of 33 year-old Stephen Miller's immigration plan, has taken another step to undo protections for detained migrant children that have been in place for nearly two decades. The actions immediately caused quite an uproar in Democratic circles, but went relatively uncritiqued by the right.

       The administration issued a rule change that would end limits on migrant minors' time in detention and limit safeguards against cruel and unsanitary conditions. The changes could also end the ability for outside, third-party inspectors to monitor the situation inside migrant holding camps.

       Andrew Clark, rapid response director for the President Trump's 2020 reelection campaign, sent out an email that had quotes from a number of presidential candidates saying migrant families must be kept together. This rule, he argued, would do just that.

       "Today's news should be welcomed by the 2020 Democrats, who last year made clear that keeping families together should be a top government priority when it comes to illegal immigration," he wrote.

       But presidential candidates, unsurprisingly, are speaking out against the change. California Senator Kamala Harris asked on Twitter Wednesday, "how does detaining families longer make our border secure or stop transnational gangs — things the DHS should actually be spending their time doing?" She supplied her own answer: "It doesn't."

       Senator Elizabeth Warren echoed Harris' discontent. "The Flores agreement mandates that migrant children cannot be held in detention for more than 20 days," she wrote on Twitter, "Today, the Trump administration announced its plans to roll back Flores—putting thousands of children in danger. We must fight this."

       The new rule, which will go into effect in 60 days if approved by a federal judge, would establish standards for the conditions in migrant holding units but would remove a 20-day limit on detaining families in jails. Families will now be sent to "family residential centers" where they will remain until their immigration case is heard.

       Cases are often resolved within 90 days but can sometimes drag on for years. There are about 850,000 immigration cases awaiting hearings in the U.S. and less than 450 judges across the country to hear them. According to Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse it takes an average of 713 days for a judge to hear a case.

       "The detention of children can lead to trauma, suicidal feelings, and exposure to dangerously inadequate medical care," said Clara Long, acting deputy Washington director at Human Rights Watch. "No amount of time in detention is safe for children and prolonged detention is particularly harmful."

       The announcement follows shortly after inspectors found soiled, emotionally distraught children who were unable to brush their teeth or shower, and the administration tried to justify not providing kids with soap and toothbrushes.

       "There is no way we can trust that the same administration that let six children die under its watch, and argued that kids don't need basic necessities like soap and toothbrushes, is capable of regulating itself," said Jess Morales Rocketto, chair of Families Belong Together, in a statement. "This rule will separate more families and traumatize countless others in the process. The government needs to reunite families immediately, not expand the number of parents and children they jail with limited food, beds, toilets, or access to medical attention."

       During a press conference Wednesday morning, acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan justified the administration's decision. He said that there was "no intent" for families to be held for a "very long time" and that ICE intended to treat migrants with "dignity, respect and special concern in concert with American values."

       The Flores agreement was established by federal law about two decades ago as a way to set guidelines and standards for the treatment of migrant youth entering the United States.

       Last month, Elora Mukherjee, the director of Columbia Law School's Immigrants' Rights Clinic, was allowed to interview 70 migrant children being held because of the stipulations of the Flores agreement. She testified to Congress that the centers were overcrowded and unsanitary.

       The hundred-plus page rule would, "allow for termination of the Flores Settlement Agreement" in totality, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

       "Never before have we learned of 700 children being detained in a facility built for 104 or 106 adults," she said. She told stories of children who could not say their names but only repeat "I'm scared," and babies running around without diapers. She said some children smelled so bad that she could not get close to them.

       "Never before have we met with children detained in [Customs and Border Patrol] custody for a week, much less weeks and nearly a month. Never before have we had to directly intervene to get critically ill babies admitted to the hospital," she testified.