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Pressure from advocates is leading the Biden administration to revise plans to restart Trump-era regulations that would end a longstanding court settlement created to protect migrant children in U.S. custody, two individuals familiar with the matter told CBS News. Under former President Trump in 2019, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services created regulations to replace the Flores Settlement Agreement, which has administered the care of immigrant minors in U.S. custody. On Friday, the Biden administration excluded the HHS rule from its agenda of regulations, even though the rule was included in the spring agenda this year. An administration official said this decision came months after some internal debate. CBS News
In other federal immigration news…
New Memo: Officials Condemn Treatment of Migrant Children in Government Custody
An internal document obtained by CNN reveals federal employees are worried about their agency’s handling of unaccompanied migrant minors. “As child welfare professionals with combined decades of experience working with (unaccompanied children), we, the (Office of Refugee Resettlement) field staff supervisors, have become growingly alarmed at the erosion of child-welfare centered approaches within the UC program,” a July 23 memo from employees read. After political backlash over poor conditions for migrants, officials say pressure to fix these issues trickled down from the White House to agency staff. CNN
CBP Unit Investigated 20 Journalists
A special CBP unit used sensitive government databases, which were intended to track terrorists, to investigate roughly 20 U.S.-based journalists. According to Yahoo News, the unit, also known as the Counter Network Division, inquired records of congressional staffers and members of Congress. Jeffery Rambo, an agent who acknowledged checking on journalists in 2017, told federal investigators this practice was a routine. Lauren Easton, the Associated Press’ director of media relations, called the probes “a violation of the First Amendment” in a statement. CBP defended its actions as “strictly governed by well-established protocols and best practices.” The Associated Press
