US Judge Orders Migrant Children to Be Released From Family Detention Centers

US Judge Orders Migrant Children to Be Released From Family Detention Centers
People hold hands as they leave a cafeteria at the ICE South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, on Aug. 23, 2019. AP Photo/Eric Gay, File
The Associated Press
Updated:

HOUSTON—A federal judge on Friday ordered the release of children held with their parents in U.S. immigration jails and denounced the Trump administration’s prolonged detention of families during the coronavirus pandemic.

U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee’s order applies to children held for more than 20 days at three family detention centers in Texas and Pennsylvania operated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Some have been detained since last year.