Feds asks court to allow immigrant children to be detained with parents: What we know now

John Bacon | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Family immigration centers at border could be at capacity within days Hours after President Trump signed an executive order halting the policy that separated migrant families at the border, the Texas centers built to house them could be at capacity within days.

The Justice Department on Thursday asked a federal judge to change the rules for detaining undocumented immigrants as the Trump administration presses its effort to halt the separation of children from their parents while continuing the "zero tolerance" policy.

At issue is the Flores consent decree and related court rulings that require release of children within 20 days. The problem is that under zero tolerance the government is criminally charging adults – and their cases generally take far more than 20 days to litigate. The government wants approval to allow the kids to stay with their detained parents.

The consent degree stems from a class-action lawsuit filed in the 1980s challenging procedures for detention, treatment and release of children of undocumented immigrants. Years of court battles resulted in a determination that the government must release the child to relatives or into the “least restrictive” accommodations possible.

In most cases, relatives are not available in the U.S., so kids are placed in temporary youth shelters operated by Health and Human Services.

Trump his Dems, Mexico for immigration morass

President Donald Trump continued his assault on congressional Democrats and Mexico over immigration Thursday, one day after signing his executive order designed to halt the separation of children from undocumented adults under his contentious "zero tolerance" policy.

Trump, speaking from the White House, lamented that he could not lure a sufficient number of Democratic senators to support a sweeping, GOP immigration bill.

"We need 10 Democrats, and we're not going to get them," he said. "They don't care about children ... They don't care about anything. All they are good at is obstructing."

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., blasted Trump on Twitter, saying Trump "hasn’t taken care of the problem, not by any stretch of the imagination. But now that he’s finally admitted that his administration does have the power to take action, I urge him to address these serious, unresolved issues."

The Mexican government has condemned what it considers "cruel and inhumane" treatment of children under Trump's zero tolerance. Trump also said Mexico talks about helping stop illegal immigration but has not acted. He said Mexico "does nothing for us except taking our money and sending us drugs."

Melania Trump visits border

First lady Melania Trump traveled to the Texas border town of McAllen on Thursday to take part in briefings and tours at a nonprofit social services center for undocumented immigrant children, her office said.

The first lady also was visiting a customs and border patrol processing center.

"I want to thank you for your hard work, your compassion and your kindness," she told reporters. Her office said she wanted to "lend support and hear more on how the administration can build upon the already existing efforts to reunite children with their families."

Melania Trump had made a public statement Sunday urging "both sides" to come together on a solution to the crisis of children being separated from their undocumented parents at the border.

House delays vote on immigration bill

The House delayed until Friday a vote on the most promising immigration proposal, after a more conservative bill failed Thursday. The compromise would allow an estimated 1.8 million "Dreamers" to apply for “nonimmigrant status” if they meet certain conditions. Those that get the status would, after six years, qualify to apply for a green card and join the path to eventual citizenship. To assuage immigration hardliners, the measure would end a diversity lottery program and limit family-based immigration. The visas from those programs would be used for the "Dreamers" and then dry up.

Pelosi, Trump clash on Twitter

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the House minority leader, on Thursday accused Trump of putting the children of undocumented immigrants in cages and Republicans of being complicit in his atrocities after Trump lit into the California Democrat on Twitter.

"Democrats want open borders, where anyone can come into our country, and stay. This is Nancy Pelosi’s dream," Trump tweeted Thursday. "It won’t happen!"

Minutes later, it was Pelosi firing back: "Democrats want to honor our responsibility to secure our borders but not by putting children in cages."

Images from the border have shown some children living in temporary shelters separated by chain-link fencing.

"Republicans continue to be complicit in @realDonaldTrump’s atrocities," Pelosi tweeted. "Instead of standing up for families, they are pushing bills that serve to advance his shameful ideas. #FamiliesBelongTogether."

More: First lady Melania Trump makes in surprise trip to Texas

More: House Republicans scramble for bill on immigration

More: Trump reversal followed pressure from Melania, Ivanka, GOP lawmakers

More: Young immigrants detained in Virginia center allege abuse

Trump policy draw protests despite order

Hundreds of protesters chanting "I believe we will win" gathered at LaGuardia Airport in New York overnight awaiting flights believed to be carrying immigrant children separated from their families at the Mexican border. The rally was one of several held across the nation protesting Trump's "zero tolerance" immigration policy, hours after Trump signed an executive order aimed at halting the separation of children from their families.

Activists took to social media Wednesday to rally support for the protest after learning that children were being flown from the border to New York for placement in area youth programs. Earlier Wednesday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the federal government would not reveal how many children had been sent to the area but added he learned 239 children were at one program alone.

Trump walks back policy under pressure

Trump signed the executive order after days of protests from across the political spectrum, including Republican lawmakers who expressed concerns about their re-election prospects, according to current and former administration officials. Pressure also came from within his own family. Ivanka Trump had been working with top GOP lawmakers — including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine — to find a way out, said a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive discussions within the first family.

Children claim abuse in Virginia center

Immigrant children as young as 14 housed at a juvenile detention center in Virginia say they were beaten while handcuffed and locked up for long periods in solitary confinement, left nude and shivering in concrete cells. The abuse claims against the Shenandoah Valley Juvenile Center near Staunton, Virginia, are detailed in federal court filings that include a half-dozen sworn statements from Latino teens jailed there for months or years. Multiple detainees say the guards stripped them of their clothes and strapped them to chairs with bags placed over their heads.

Small Texas town a focus of struggle

The Texas border town of McAllen is home to the U.S. Border Patrol’s McAllen Station, the busiest point of entry for apprehending and detaining immigrants suspected of entering the country illegally, and protests have erupted around the area. “It’s about time the whole country wakes up and says ‘This is wrong,’” said Sister Norma Pimentel, who runs a respite center for migrants in this border town of about 130,000 people. “This is their suffering. But I’ve been seeing this suffering for four years, or more.”

Contributing: Trevor Hughes, Eliza Collins, David Jackson and Deidre Shesgreen; The Associated Press