Legal filing accuses Trump admin of routinely violating Flores agreement on immigrant children detention

New court filing documents widespread abuse and violations of Flores agreement at South Texas detention center

A new legal brief filed in federal court alleges that the Trump administration's Department of Homeland Security is holding hundreds of immigrant children at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, far beyond the 20-day legal limit—with some children detained for as long as 323 days.

Key Allegations

The brief, filed July 15 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, claims ongoing and extreme violations of the Flores agreement. Established nearly 30 years ago, the Flores agreement mandates that children may not be held in immigration detention for more than 20 days unless the facility is nonsecure and licensed.

Among the findings:

• Children detained for 323, 143, and 135 days
• Systematic abuse by guards at the facility, operated by private prison company CoreCivic
• Retaliation against children and families who file complaints
• Inadequate medical care and education
• Discrepancies in ICE's reported detention data

Firsthand Accounts of Abuse

The brief includes testimonies from children and parents describing ongoing mistreatment, including:

• Guards denying children medical care
• Inadequate educational programming
• Constant screaming at children when they attempt to play
• Physical attacks, including tearing up children's drawings and shoving them when they object
• Repeatedly startling children awake during the night

In one incident, a male cleaning staff member repeatedly entered a women's bathroom while teenage girls were inside, naked and showering. When the girls' mother submitted a grievance, officials forced the girls to undergo physical and mental examinations—effectively punishing them for the complaint.

Discrepancies in ICE Data

The brief notes that ICE published its 2026 annual report shortly before the filing, but the report failed to disclose how many children were detained for 20 days or more over the past year. Instead, it provided various monthly averages of daily population and average lengths of detention for children who had been released.

Key data points from the brief:

• May 2026: ICE stated children detained in February and March spent an average of nearly 60 days in custody
• Annual report: Claimed average length of stay was 47.5 days for February and 40.2 days for March
• June 2025–May 2026: ICE reported an average length of stay of 27.4 days

The brief notes that ICE offered no explanation for these discrepancies, and that all reported averages exceed the 20-day limit established under Flores.

Site Visit Findings

Plaintiff site visits conducted in March, April, and June found that some children were spending significantly more time at Dilley than ICE's inconsistent averages suggest. Among the longest stays documented:

• 323 days
• 143 days
• 135 days

"During most site visits, the number of children experiencing exceptionally prolonged detention exceeded the number of families Plaintiffs' counsel were able to interview," the legal brief states.

Contrast with Government Claims

The brief contrasts the documented abuse with the government's description of the Dilley facility, which claims to provide "family sessions, group sessions, psychoeducation, parenting education, and therapeutic or wellness-related programming such as Zumba and crochet," as well as activities including "bead bracelet making, jewelry box construction and decorating, birdhouse building, yarn weaving, crocheting, canvas painting, journaling, sports and game tournaments, relay races, hula hoop activities, tug-of-war, Zumba, karaoke, bingo, and chalk art."

According to the brief, no family has ever reported receiving wellness-related programming "beyond brief check-ins," and plaintiffs' counsel have never witnessed evidence of Zumba or crochet on any facility tour.

Plaintiff's attorney and Children's Rights chief legal counsel Leecia Welch wrote that when she asked parents whether Dilley offered Zumba classes—as the facility regularly advertises on tours—"they laughed."

Response from CoreCivic

A CoreCivic spokesperson failed to respond to an email seeking comment.

Broader Context

Human rights advocates, attorneys, and doctors say no length of time of imprisonment is appropriate for children. The brief adds to a growing body of evidence that the Trump administration's mass deportation campaign is systematically traumatizing children as young as infants, in some cases causing them to regress developmentally.