Chapman has been proud to serve as pro bono counsel to Children’s Rights in its efforts to advocate for and protect vulnerable immigrant children as amicus to the plaintiffs-appellees in Flores v. Rosen, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 19-56326. In the latest action, on December 29, 2020, the Ninth Circuit ruled in favor the plaintiff-appellees, upholding the provisions of the 1997 Flores Settlement Agreement (Flores). The decision limits federal government actions to change or eliminate protections afforded to immigrant minors and their families under Flores, reserves licensing of immigration facilities for the states, as opposed to DHS, and protects children and their families from indefinite detention. The decision comes eleven months after filing Children’s Rights’ amicus brief before the Ninth Circuit on January 29, 2020, where it joined eight other leading child welfare organizations to advocate against the proposed DHS rules. Chapman served as pro bono counsel for Children’s Rights’ earlier amicus brief challenging the regulations, which was filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on August 30, 2019.
For more information, please visit childrensrights.org.