This is a timeline of events related to migrant children's detention centers in the United States.
A selected timeline of events Year Date Event image1984 September 6Harold W. Ezell, then director of Western Region of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) under President Ronald Reagan, "implemented a policy under which a detained immigrant child could only be released to a parent or legal guardian".83 Fed. Reg. at 45489. As a result, immigrant children were detained in poor conditions for "lengthy or indefinite" periods of time.Multi-State Comment Letter November 6, 2018 pp.33 1985 In 1985, Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) apprehended then-15-year-old Jenny Lisette Flores, from El Salvador after she attempted to cross the Mexico–United States border, and detained her in an adult prison where she was strip searched.1985July 11The Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law filed a class action lawsuit Flores v. Meese, No. 85-4544 (C.D. Cal. filed July 11, 1985) in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of Flores and three other minor immigrant children, against AG Edwin Meese, who served as United States Attorney General from February 25, 1985 to July 5, 1988 under President Ronald Reagan.Cases from the United States District Court for the Central District of California (C.D. Cal) are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The 1985 class action lawsuit was brought against the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) by the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law (CHRCL) through lawyers Carlos Holguin and [Peter A. Schey on behalf of Flores. According to NBC News, shortly after Flores v. Meese was filed, Flores was released through a court injunction.1987 In 1987, the parties agreed to a consent decree regarding detention conditions but the United States District Court for the Central District of California granted summary judgment to the plaintiffs regarding the release conditions. 1988 March 7In Flores v. Meese, a District court judge in California placed "limits on INS treatment of alien minors in custody."Flores v. Meese, 681 F. Supp. 665 (C.D. Cal. 1988). Jenny Lisette FLORES, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Edwin MEESE, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Harold W. Ezell, Defendants. No. CV 85-4544-RJK. United States District Court, C.D. California. March 7, 1988. National Center for Immigrants' Rights, Inc., Carlos Holguin, Peter A. Schey, Los Angeles, Cal., National Center for Youth Law, James Morales, Alice Bussiere, Teresa Demchak, San Francisco, Cal., American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU Foundation of Southern California), Paul Hoffman, John Hagar, Los Angeles, Cal., for plaintiffs. Robert C. Bonner, U.S. Atty., Frederick M. Brosio, Jr., Asst. U.S. Atty., Chief, Civil Div., Ian Fan, Asst. U.S. Atty., Los Angeles, Cal., for defendants.1993 In the Supreme Court case, Attorney General Janet Reno et al. v. Jenny Lisette Flores in which the Court held that the Immigration and Naturalization Service's regulations, regarding the release of alien unaccompanied minors, did not violate the Due Process Clause of the United States Constitution..Reno v. Flores, 507 U.S. 292 (1993) 1997 January 28 The Flores agreement, which originated in Flores v. Meese, No. 85-4544 (C.D. Cal. filed July 11, 1985) "set standards for the detention of minors by prioritizing them for release to the custody of their families and requiring those in federal custody to be placed in the least restrictive environment possible", according to a June 19, 2018 NBC News article. Immigration officials agreed to provide detained minors with "food and drinking water as appropriate, medical assistance if minor is in need of emergency services, toilets and sinks, adequate temperature control and ventilation, adequate supervision to protect minors from others, contact with family members who were arrested with the minor, and separation from unrelated adults whenever possible." According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (TVPRA) and the settlement agreement in Flores v. Meese which was reached during the administration of Bill Clinton, set national legal standards for law governing the rights of children in the immigration process.The defendants included their agents, employees, contractors and/or successors in office and plaintiffs included named plaintiffs and all class members.