Human Rights Day: The Flores Exhibits Viewing

In recognition of Human Rights Day, please join the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights for a special viewing of The Flores Exhibits, a project created by Waterwell and Broadway Advocacy Coalition. In this series of short videos, artists, organizers, lawyers and immigrants read sworn testimonies of children detained at the U.S. / Mexico Border in June 2019.

The event will be held from 1-2:30 p.m. in the Kresge Cafeteria at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA). Dr. Mary T. Bassett, Director of the FXB Center, will provide opening remarks.

The exhibit is part of a national campaign to establish legal protections for immigrant children held in U.S. government facilities.

The 1997 Flores Settlement Agreement sets a limit on the length of time a child can be detained, requires that they be held in the least restrictive area possible, and guarantees access to basic hygiene supplies, adequate nutrition, and appropriate clothing.

In June 2019, a team of lawyers who work as independent monitors of the detention facilities took more than 60 testimonies from children detailing lengthy stays, ongoing family separations, and dirty, unsafe conditions.

These sworn testimonies were submitted as exhibits in a motion for a Temporary Restraining Order filed by the National Center for Youth Law. The motion seeks to provide immediate relief to children living without access to basic hygiene supplies and adequate nutrition or sleep.

On September 27, Judge Dolly Gee of the 9th Circuit ruled against the Trump administration’s proposal to end the Flores Settlement Agreement entirely, which would allow indefinite detention and eliminate independent oversight. The administration is likely to appeal this ruling, increasing the likelihood that this matter will be heard by the Supreme Court.