Children in immigration detention in the United States

Children in immigration detention in the United States refers to the government practice of holding minors in federal custody during immigration proceedings. This includes both unaccompanied minors who arrive without a parent or guardian and children detained alongside family members. The practice has been governed since 1997 by the Flores Settlement Agreement, which requires that children be held in the least restrictive setting appropriate and released without unnecessary delay. The detention of immigrant children has been a recurring source of legal and political conflict, particularly during the 2018 family separation policy, which forcibly separated more than 5,500 children from their parents at the U.S.–Mexico border.