“President Trump’s long-expected attempt to end the Flores agreement, which protects the basic human rights of migrant children, must be blocked. Announced this morning, the proposed regulation would wipe out the 20-day limit on jailing migrant children, allowing the Trump administration to detain them in dangerous, inhumane conditions indefinitely. It must never take effect.

“For decades, the Flores agreement has protected the health, safety and basic human rights of immigrant children. To overturn or replace it would result in children languishing in detention indefinitely. Even with families, detention is traumatic for children and can cause long-term health and developmental harm. The Trump administration has an abysmal, shameful track record of endangering even the most vulnerable children by forcing them into overcrowded facilities; denying them food, health care, hygiene and education; and heartlessly subjecting them to conditions that risk their health and their lives. The child welfare protections of the Flores agreement are especially important for children right now. 

“The moms of the United States do not want our taxes used to pay for child or family incarceration as there are effective alternatives to detention that are not only more compassionate for children and families, but also more fiscally responsible. Trump’s attack on immigrant children and families is an attack on America’s values and a rejection of our country’s long history of immigration, which has made us stronger and more prosperous. Moms demand that every immigrant child and family be treated with compassion, dignity and respect. The courts and Congress must step in to prevent the even more widespread, disgraceful violations of children’s human rights that the Trump administration’s new regulation would bring.”