[U, X2] Children Kidnapped: A Monday Update -- A Raft Of On-Deadline Reports Due, From Trump Lawyer Chad Readler...

UPDATE @ 6 PM EDT: About an hour north in LA, just now, the able Judge Dolly Gee has published her full supporting opinion (a 32 page PDF), granting the bulk of the requests of the ACLU and other pro bono lawyers the right to stop Trump from breaching the Flores agreement. Thus here are a few of the high points:

". . .Plaintiffs contend that RTCs violate the Flores Agreement because they do not comport with its definition of “licensed programs.” See Reply at 11–13. They also contend that Defendants have violated the Flores Agreement by placing Class Members in RTCs, staff-secure facilities, and secure facilities without adequate notice or an opportunity to be heard, and that the criteria for such placements do not comport with the Flores Agreement. . . .

Accordingly, the Court ORDERS Defendants to transfer all Class Members out of Shiloh RTC unless a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist has determined or determines that a particular Class Member poses a risk of harm to self or others. . . . Defendants are further ORDERED to cease employing at Shiloh RTC any security measures that are not necessary for the protection of minors or others, such as the denial of access to drinking water.

Additionally, the Court ORDERS Defendants to permit Class Members at Shiloh RTC to “talk privately on the phone, as permitted by the house rules and regulations. . . .”

[T]he Court [also] ORDERS Defendants to comply with all Texas child welfare laws and regulations governing the administration of psychotropic medications to Class Members. . . ."

[End final update for Monday evening. Do go read the full 32 page opinion.]

Here is the able Judge Sabraw's two page order from late Friday night, in San Diego, after the last status hearing. As it details, 45's Mis-administration owes the pro bono lawyers a series of reports as early as this morning. There will be another written status report by 3 PM PDT on Wednesday, and another status report hearing on Thursday. [I almost certainly will be off grid for the entirety of those developments, however -- so read the local LA/SD papers.]

As a more substantive reset, though -- here early on Monday -- I want to line out why seven days are needed, after reunification. The below comes from the ACLU's latest position seeking such a "counsel consultation window" (as a four page PDF):

. . . .[T]he Court asked Plaintiffs’ counsel what decisions reunited families must now make, for which they need time to consult with each other and receive legal advice. As the attached declarations illustrate, Class Members who have final removal orders must choose between at least three options:

1. The child may request his or her own Credible Fear Interview -- an option that would have been available to the family had it not been separated. If the child passes the Credible Fear Interview, under existing ICE procedures, the entire family will be placed in normal removal proceedings together under Section 240 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. See Decl. of Stephen Manning, Ex. 59, ¶ 5-7.

2. The parent may seek reconsideration of his or her own credible fear denial. If reconsideration is denied, the parent may be able to file a habeas petition to challenge the credible fear denial in federal court. As Plaintiffs explained at argument, the Ninth Circuit has a case pending that addresses federal jurisdiction over challenges to credible fear denials. See Thuraissigiam v. DHS, No. 18-55313 (9th Cir. argued May 17, 2018).

3. If the parent is ultimately going to be removed, the family must decide whether the child will remain in the country to pursue the child’s own immigration claims, or be removed with the parent. That decision turns on a number of factors, including the nature of the relief available to the child, and the circumstances in which the child will be living in the United States. See Govindaiah Decl., Ex. 40, ¶ 9 (July 16, 2018) (discussing substantive claims that children may raise). . . .

[UPDATED 07.30.2018 @ 4 PM EDT Order:]. . . In the August 2, 2018 Status Report, Counsel shall include their respective plans for reuniting parents that have been removed from the United States and parents that have been released to the interior but have yet to be located. . . .

In the August 2, 2018 Status Report, Defense Counsel [Trump Administration] shall also address whether they object to production of A-files of the parents identified above to Plaintiffs on a rolling basis. . . .

Dated: July 30, 2018

/s/ Judge Dana M. Sabraw, USDC SD CA. . . .

Now you know -- this will likely be the most important series of legal decisions each of these families will make in their lifetimes. All while some alt-right pundits complain bitterly that the Obamas were seen. . . dancing at a Jay-Z concert in DC over the weekend (throwback to mid-October 2012, and a long ago Jay-Z concert date I missed, in Brooklyn!). . . yet the CURRENT occupant of 1600 Penn goes. . . golfing, while children are locked in cages. Cages that same Cheat-o-lini created, as unlawful political point seeking -- from his xenophobic "base".

A private citizen (out of office for almost a year and three quarters) who'd already done MORE than his part for God and Country -- is in the wrong(?!) -- for dancing, on a Saturday night, but the CURRENT architect of ongoing crimes against humanity is a hero(?), for going golfing on taxpayers' dime, and time? Do I have that right, Mr. Bannon?

Irony. It's for. . . me. Onward.

नमस्ते