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Of the nine minors that have been initially detained at a Sacramento facility by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during President Donald Trump’s second term, eight had been deported and only one had been released, according to data released earlier this week.
Read more 8 children deported after detainment at Sacramento ICE facility, data shows
EdSource, a nonprofit news organization covering education in California, published a database compiled from UCLA and UC Berkeley research that includes records for more than 650 children initially detained at facilities across the state. The data covers the second term of the Trump administration through March 10.
All eight deported minors were born in Mexico, with seven being detained for less than 24 hours before deported, while one remained in custody for two days, the data shows. The minors detained at the Sacramento facility ranged in age from 3 to 15.
While the Flores settlement generally limits the detention of minors to 20 days, the minor who was released, a 3-year-old child born in Nicaragua, was detained in Sacramento for less than 10 hours before being transferred to a Texas facility and remained in custody for nearly 63 days.
The Flores settlement is a 1997 agreement reached in Flores v. Reno, a case prompted by the detention of Jenny Flores, a 15-year-old Salvadoran girl held in poor conditions with unrelated adults at an immigration facility in Pasadena.
“I would not be surprised, given the Trump administration’s failure to adhere to various court orders, that they’re violating the Flores settlement,” said Kevin Johnson, a renowned immigration expert at the UC Davis School of Law.
According to Johnson, ICE commonly transfers detainees from California facilities to facilities outside in states such as Texas, Louisiana and Arizona, a practice he attributed to California’s higher operating costs and limited cooperation from state and local agencies.
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He added the minors were likely deported with family members, noting that federal courts have blocked the removal of unaccompanied children in the past, including 76 Guatemalan children whose deportation flights were stopped in Texas in August.
Johnson explained that detainees are supposed to receive a list of attorneys or organizations that may be able to provide them legal counsel, but representation is not guaranteed as nonprofit legal service providers are overwhelmed right now and many families cannot afford private attorneys.
Nationwide, more than 6,200 children were detained by ICE during the first 14 months of President Donald Trump’s second term. The average daily number of children in custody rose from 24 during the final year of the Biden administration to 226, according to a recent Marshall Project analysis. More than 1,600 children were detained for longer than 20 days, the analysis showed.
“Immigration is in the hands of the federal government, and states have a limited role there,” Johnson said, adding that California could still do more to support immigrant communities through know-your-rights programs and assistance with naturalization.
“California has stood by its words, but that’s not to say that more couldn’t be done. There’s people incredibly frightened in certain communities right now,” Johnson said.
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