Federal judge orders release of detained immigrant children

immigrant detainees
(Image credit: John Moore/Getty Images)

A federal judge ruled late Friday that detaining children and their mothers who crossed the border illegally violates an "unambiguous" court settlement, The New York Times reports.

Two Texas detention centers aren't fit for housing children, so they and their mothers should be released immediately, the judge said, according to a 1997 settlement. Judge Dolly M. Gee also found migrant children were being held in "widespread deplorable conditions" in Border Patrol stations when they were first caught.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up
Latest Videos FromThe Week
Julie Kliegman

Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.