Thread by @prernaplal

The 1997 Flores Agreement that the Trump Administration is now attacking does not call for separating families.

Flores was a hard fought victory to prevent child abuse and detention.

Do not let anyone tell you otherwise

#ProtectFlores, a thread

Flores did three things:
1. Require govt. to release children from detention without delay
2. If sponsor isn't found, govt. is required to place children in least restrictive setting
3. Require govt. to set standards for care in detention for children

womensrefugeecommission.org/images/zdocs/F…

The Trump Administration, by blaming the Flores settlement agreement for their despicable policies, is literally trying to open the door to prolonged abuse and detention of children.

Do not let them come after Flores. nytimes.com/2018/06/14/us/…

In 2015, a federal judge ruled that even the Obama administration violated Flores by holding children in prison-like faciltiies with their parents vox.com/2015/7/29/9067…

There are better ways to abide by Flores than separating parents from their children or trying to overturn a great settlement agreement.

Some ideas:

1) Parole the parents along with the children
2) Release the asylum seekers on an order of recognizance
3) Abolish detention

Nothing in U.S. immigration law or the Flores agreement requires the U.S. government to detain asylum seekers, separate parents from their children, or criminalize asylum seekers.

For a reading on Flores, see @abogadatejana

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, one of the counsels in the settlement agreement.

Over 2,000 children have been separated from their parents but ending Flores is not the answer. We must treat refugees and asylum seekers better and end the practice of detaining, criminalizing and deporting them. thehill.com/latino/392522-… #abolishice #enddetention

Right now, the Trump Administration is attacking asylum seekers on many fronts:

1. Seeking criminal prosecutions against them
2. Separating them from their children so they give up and leave
3. Trying to (illegally) narrow asylum laws to exclude domestic violence survivors

All we are asking for is basic due process! It is against our laws and international law and norms to treat asylum seekers and children in this manner.

Trump is blaming Democrats for Flores but actually Obama and Democrats tried their hardest to circumvent and repeal the settlement agreement aila.org/infonet/flores…. Maybe he is blaming them for not getting rid of it for him 🙄

FACT: Coming to the US border or any port of entry is the PROPER way of asking for asylum.

The only other way to do so is if you’re already here.

This is how asylum works. People cannot apply for asylum from abroad.

It’s not unlawful to claim asylum. What’s unlawful is to separate parents from their children without due process. #EndFamilySeparation #EndImmigrantDetention

There are years of precedent from countries in Europe such as Greece and Britain that prohibit bringing criminal charges against asylum seekers. We need the same rules in the U.S. or we need to sue to establish the same protections for people seeking asylum.

I hope people realize that Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen is lying to provide cover for Trump administration's human rights atrocities at the border.
There is an easy fix to this situation -- Don't criminalize asylum seekers. Keep families together. Parole them.