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A federal judge has issued a temporary block against a administration initiative that would have kept migrant youth in detention after their 18th birthdays, blocking their movement to adult detention centers that advocates said were scheduled for this weekend.

Legal Ruling Issued in Washington DC

On the weekend, US district judge Rudolph Contreras in the capital issued a court injunction directing US Immigration and Customs Enforcement to cease transferring unaccompanied immigrant children into adult detention once they reached the age of majority.

Contreras determined that systematically holding these individuals violates an earlier 2021 court order that explicitly prohibited such actions. The decision contributes to a growing list of federal clashes over controversial immigration policies, especially concerning minors.

Recent Immigration Policy Measures

Just a short time before, it was reported that the government had proposed providing immigrant children monetary offers to self-deport, with a "single payment for relocation" given to children in exchange for their willing exit.

"These measures push children to abandon their legal claims and return to a life of fear and danger without ever getting proper legal consideration," said an immigration advocate, president of the New York Immigration Coalition. "The disorder inherent in this policy will devastate families and communities – and it is targeted to hurt children."

Legal Framework for Unaccompanied Minors

Under US legislation, unaccompanied minors are housed in facilities overseen by the office of refugee resettlement, which operates under the health and human services department, not immigration enforcement.

Contreras's previous decision required that when these children turn 18, they must be released to "the least restrictive setting available", assuming they aren't considered a risk to society and aren't likely to flee. Many are assigned to family members or caregivers.

Implementation Issues

Regardless of the court order, lawyers for young migrants have also noted getting notifications that federal officials had instructed shelters to stop releasing approaching adulthood youth, even those with approved release plans, and instead get ready to transfer them to adult detention.

Wider Situation

The administration is also confronting allegations of resuming the method of separating families in order to coerce immigrants and asylum seekers to depart the country, as legal experts and former officials have spoken out against the approach.

In several cases, authorities have taken action against migrants who contested removal decisions by forcibly separating them from their children. The authorities incorrectly categorized the youth as "children without guardians" before placing them in government-run shelters or foster care.

Current Activities

It was also disclosed in recent months that immigration officials are actively seeking out minors without parents in operations nationwide with a aim of removing them or initiating legal proceedings against them or guardian adults sheltering them legally in the US.

Over the recent period, the administration has imposed stricter screening before discharging minors to relatives or sponsors in the US, increasing the typical period minors spend in detention. That process, which now involves biometric data, DNA tests and home visits, has slowed releases considerably.

Statistical Data

Statistics published recently also revealed that immigrants with no criminal record are now the biggest category held in US immigration detention, exceeding the count of detainees who have been charged with crimes.