Federal judge: US must free migrant children from family detention

HOUSTON - A federal judge has 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 Friday applies to children at three family detention centers in Texas and Pennsylvania operated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Some have been detained since last year.

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Citing the recent spread of the virus in two of the three facilities, Gee set a deadline of July 17 for children to either be released with their parents or sent to family sponsors.

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