WASHINGTON: A US federal judge on Monday rejected the Trump administration’s request to allow long-term detention of illegal immigrant children, a setback for President Donald Trump’s executive order to end the separation of immigrant families.
Los Angeles US District Court Judge Dolly Gee dismissed as “dubious” and “unconvincing” the US Justice Department’s arguments to modify a 1997 settlement that says children can only be held in immigration detention for up to 20 days.
The government made the request in June to allow it to keep underage migrants in detention alongside parents, after a public outcry over its policy of separating children from parents who entered the United States illegally.
“It is apparent that the Defendants’ Application is a cynical attempt to shift responsibility to the Judiciary for over 20 years of Congressional inaction and ill-considered Executive action that have led to the current stalemate,” Gee, the daughter of Chinese immigrants, said in her ruling.
The government asked Gee to suspend the Flores settlement’s requirement that immigrant children be held only in facilities that meet state child welfare licensing regulations, so as to allow whole families to be detained together.
Gee, who was appointed to the bench by President Barack Obama, said the government had known for years that there was “no state licensing readily available for facilities that house both adults and children.”
Judge rejects Trump request for long-term detention of immigrant children
Judge rejects Trump request for long-term detention of immigrant children
- The government made the request in June to allow it to keep underage migrants in detention alongside parents
France’s Macron laughs off ‘harmless’ eye condition as he addresses troops
French President Emmanuel Macron joked about a “completely harmless” eye condition on Thursday during a New Year address to France’s armed forces.
“Please pardon the unsightly appearance of my eye,” Macron said at the beginning of his speech. “It is, of course, something completely harmless.”
Macron appeared with a puffy, red eye during his speech at the military base in Istres, in southern France. He earlier wore sunglasses during an outdoor troop inspection.
“Simply see an unintentional reference to the ‘Eye of the Tiger’ ... For those who catch the reference, it is a sign of determination,” he joked, in an apparent reference to the name of the hit theme song by American rock band Survivor from the 1982 Rocky III movie starring Sylvester Stallone.
Macron’s speech addressed key challenges for the military in 2026, from France’s accelerated rearmament and continued support for Ukraine, to the decision to send troops to Greenland in a show of support for Denmark.
