AG Ferguson: Trump administration's ‘mistreatment' of immigrant children violates court settlement

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson has joined 19 other attorneys general in support of a lawsuit that seeks to force the Trump administration to provide safe and sanitary conditions for immigrant children who are detained.

The amicus brief was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

The attorneys general argue that the administration's treatment of the children is in violation of a long-standing court settlement, the 1997 Flores agreement.

“The settlement requires the federal government to meet minimum standards when detaining immigrant children, including safe and sanitary conditions and prompt release or placement,” a spokesperson for Ferguson wrote in a news release.

The attorneys general argue that immigrant children have been held for weeks in inhumane conditions without access to clean water, toothbrushes, showers and other necessities.

"This administration's blatant disregard for judicial orders and the basic human rights of immigrant children simply cannot continue," Ferguson said. "The Trump administration's cruelty undermines our American values."

In their brief, the attorneys general cited media reports that detailed the conditions in which children are being held and said the conditions warrant immediate intervention by the court.

California and Massachusetts were the lead authors on the brief and were joined by Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

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