[U: Late Sunday] Latest 16 Page Status Report, For Tuesday's Hearing -- In Flores Class Action Litigation, In LA...

UPDATED: Here at dinner time on Sunday, CNN is reporting that up to 1,500 kids, aged 13 to 17 will be moved to a City of San Diego sponsored convention center which has been retro-fitted to act essentially like college dorms [back in the day (think the 1990s, here) when admissions were over-extended]. That is, segregation by gender, open bunking -- but no cells, or fencing. Just new, clean beds, fresh food and water, and sanitary items -- all with local contract security guards, to protect the kids, but no locked gates. None.

In sum, nearly the opposite of what Tangerine made such kids endure. And as we said before, a week ago -- the influx is due to the near four year backup, on the other side of the border -- from T. We have a treaty obligation to process them, determine if they qualify for asylum, and get them settled, or returned. We have a moral obligation to end the squalid make-shift camps that arose in northern Mexico. This is the way we lead: partners locally, in San Diego municipal government -- with federal aid money. There will still be some frictional difficulty, but this is trending in the right direction. End update.

It seems at least some lower-level, operational members of the ICE enforcement arms. . . aren't getting the message -- they are still resisting compliance with a 1992(!) settlement order. 1992. This is now 30 years of litigation -- over a settlement the government agreed to, after a prior seven years (1985-1992) of "on the merits" litigation. We are thus at nearly four decades of fighting, simply to enforce the human rights of people. . . who arrive here seeking a better life.

Clearly things got better when Democrats were in office -- Clinton, Obama and now Biden -- but at the operational level, some ICE officers continue to resist what the law requires of them. Here is the latest -- and a bit:

. . .Paragraph 18 of the [1992 Flores Settlement Agreement] unambiguously and in plain language states: “Upon taking a minor into custody, the INS, or the licensed program in which the minor is placed, shall make and record the prompt and continuous efforts on its part toward family reunification and the release of the minor pursuant to Paragraph 14 above. Such efforts at family reunification shall continue so long as the minor is in INS custody. . . .”

At bottom, ICE continues to keep parents and Class Members in the dark about Class Members’ Flores rights. With highly limited access to outside legal counsel, and perhaps over 900 people now detained at Dilley, it is entirely unrealistic to assume outside advocates can consistently advise all detained Class Members and their parents regarding Class Members’ Flores rights. The ICE Directive should be implemented and the Notice of Rights distributed forthwith. . . .

Now you know -- on to a better Monday morning, here (with my brackets looking fairly strong, I must say). I am thinking of you, and thrilled with the evidence of safe passage -- all the pics, and a new two following, on insta-. . . smile.

नमस्ते