Press Releases

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, along with U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, Senate Judiciary Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein, Immigration Subcommittee Ranking Member Dick Durbin and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, Immigration and Citizenship Subcommittee Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Joaquin Castro and Representative Veronica Escobar, led 113 of their colleagues in submitting an Amicus Brief in Flores v Barr. The Brief urges the Ninth Circuit to reject the Trump Administration’s latest attempt to gut the Flores Settlement Agreement, which provides vital, long-standing protections for children. Flores is key to ensuring there are minimum health and safety requirements for the custody of children. 

The Members wrote: “Congress enacted [the Homeland Security Act and the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008] to ensure the safety and well-being of migrant children and to set forth specific procedures for the screening, processing, and custody of those children. The regulations, by contrast, deprive children of access to those statutory protections and do not comport with the text and history of those statutes, or with Congress’s plan in passing them.”

In addition to Schumer, Merkley, Feinstein and Durbin the Brief was signed by U.S. SenatorsTammy Baldwin (D-WI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Senator Kamala D. Harris (D-CA), Senator Cory A. Booker (D-NJ), Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Senator Michael F. Bennet (D-CO), Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Senator Christopher A. Coons (D-DE), Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), Senator Robert P. Casey (D-PA), Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Senator Bernard Sanders (D-VT), Senator Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT), and Senator Edward Markey (D-MA).

In addition to Pelosi, Nadler, Lofgren, Castro, and Escobar, the Brief was signed by U.S. Representatives Pete Aguilar (CA-31), Nanette Barragán (CA-44), Karen Bass (CA-37), Don Beyer (VA-8), Earl Blumenauer (OR-3), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-1), Brendan Boyle (PA-2), Julia Brownley (CA-26),Cheri Bustos (IL-17), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), Tony Cárdenas (CA-29), Sean Casten (IL-6), Judy Chu (CA-27), David Cicilline (RI-1), Gilbert Ray Jr. Cisneros (CA-39), Katherine Clark (MA-5), Yvette Clarke (NY-9), Emmanuel Cleaver (MO-5), Steve Cohen (TN-9), Luis Correa (CA-46), Jason Crow (CO-6), Madeleine Dean (PA-4), Peter DeFazio (OR-4), Rosa DeLauro (CT-3), Val Demings (FL-10), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11), Ted Deutch (FL-22), Debbie Dingell (MI-12), Eliot Engel (NY-16), Anna Eshoo (CA-18), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Ruben Gallego (AZ-7), Jesús "Chuy" Garcia (IL-4), Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Al Green (TX-9) , Raul Grijalva (AZ-3), Debra Haaland (NM-1), Alcee Hastings (FL-20), Jahana Hayes (CT-5), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), Pramila Jayapal (WA-7), Henry C. “Hank” Jr. Johnson (GA-4), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Derek Kilmer (WA-6), Mike Levin (CA-49), John Lewis (GA-5), Ted Lieu (CA-33), Alan Lowenthal (CA-47), Ben Ray Luján (NM-3), Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12), Betty McCollum (MN-4), Gregory W. Meeks (NY-5), James McGovern (MA-2), Jerry McNerney (CA-9), Grace Meng (NY-6), Gwen Moore (WI-4), Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (Fl-26), Grace Napolitano (CA-32), Joe Neguse (CO-2), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-At Large), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Ilhan Omar (MN-5), Jimmy Panetta (CA-20), Donald M. Payne, Jr. (NJ-10), Chellie Pingree (ME-1), Mark Pocan (WI-2), Jamie Raskin (MD-8), Kathleen Rice (NY-4), Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40), Raul Ruiz (CA-36), Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (MP-At Large), Linda Sánchez (CA-38), Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-5), Jan Schakowsky (IL-9), José E. Serrano (NY-15), Donna Shalala (FL-27), Albio Sires (NJ-8), Adam Smith (WA-9), Darren Soto (FL-9), Jackie Speier (CA-14), Greg Stanton (AZ-9), Eric Swalwell (CA-15), Mark Takano (CA-41), Bennie Thompson (MS-2), Dina Titus (NV-1), Rashida Tlaib (MI-13), Lori Trahan (MA-3), Norma Torres (CA-35), Juan Vargas (CA-51), Marc Veasey (TX-33), Filemon Vela (TX-34), Nydia Velázquez (NY-7), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Peter Welch (VT-At Large), Jennifer Wexton (VA-10), John Yarmuth (KY-3).

Click here to read the full Amicus Brief.