Advocacy groups have filed an emergency motion to enforce a court ruling preventing the detention of unaccompanied immigrant teens in adult facilities, citing recent violations by ICE.
Washington, D.C., October 4 — The American Immigration Council and the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) have filed an emergency motion today, aiming to enforce a 2021 court ruling from the Garcia Ramirez v. ICE case. This ruling prohibits U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from unlawfully detaining unaccompanied immigrant children in adult detention centers once they reach the age of 18.
The motion comes in response to multiple documented instances where ICE has resumed transferring immigrant children who entered the U.S. alone into adult detention facilities upon turning 18, a practice that violates the permanent injunction established in the Garcia Ramirez case.
“The permanent injunction made clear that ICE cannot automatically transfer young people to adult detention centers simply because they have turned 18,” said Michelle Lapointe, legal director at the American Immigration Council. “Locking up these young people in ICE jails rife with overcrowding and hazardous conditions, and far from their support systems, does nothing to make our communities safer; it only inflicts more harm on vulnerable youth.”
When children under 18 enter the United States unaccompanied, they are typically placed in shelters managed by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). These children are generally released to family members or other vetted sponsors in the U.S., rather than being sent to ICE detention centers. This policy is designed to prioritize care and support for children instead of punishment.
According to the Garcia Ramirez ruling, which resulted from years of litigation by the NIJC and the Council, ICE is required to consider placement in the least restrictive setting once these youths turn 18. This includes exploring alternatives to detention rather than resorting to immigration detention.
“ICE’s attempt to expand the detention of immigrant youth is a direct violation of the courts, which explicitly requires the agency to consider safe, less restrictive alternatives to detention,” stated Mark Fleming, associate director of litigation at the National Immigrant Justice Center. “We will not allow the government to turn back the clock and return to a practice that the courts have already found unlawful.”
The number of individuals in immigration detention has reached unprecedented levels, leading to overcrowding and abusive conditions. Critics argue that the previous administration weaponized the threat of prolonged confinement in these dangerous facilities to coerce individuals into relinquishing their legal rights and accepting deportation. This pressure is further exacerbated by new policies, including financial incentives for unaccompanied youths who agree to leave the country.
“The law is clear: ICE must use safe, less restrictive alternatives, not default to jailing young people indefinitely,” emphasized Marie Silver, managing attorney for NIJC’s Immigrant Children’s Protection Project. “These kids came here seeking safety and hope. They deserve a chance to be free, reunify with family and community members, attend school, and work with their lawyers to have their day in court. Trapping them in dangerous and degrading conditions in immigration detention is compounding their trauma in a cruel and unnecessary way.”
The emergency motion filed today underscores the urgent need to uphold the rights of immigrant youth and ensure compliance with established legal rulings.
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