Washington, D.C. (August 21, 2019) - A video from the Center for Immigration Studies analyzes how a loophole in our asylum system known as the Flores Settlement Agreement is driving the border crisis.



Matt Sussis, the Center's former Assistant Director of Communications, said, "Flores began as an agreement governing the treatment of certain minors in detention, but it has been drastically expanded by activist judges. Now, it ensures that all minors and their parents are caught-and-released into the U.S. within three weeks, creating a powerful incentive for migration."



The Flores Settlement Agreement was originally signed in 1997 as a deal between immigration activists and the Clinton administration regarding unaccompanied minors. In 2015, a California district judge named Dolly Gee expanded Flores to apply to accompanied minors as well, and set a 20-day limit for all minors to be released from Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) custody.



As a result, the number of apprehended aliens claiming credible fear, which is the first step in seeking asylum, soared 67 percent in 2018 and rose ten-fold compared to a decade ago.



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