There Are Concentration Camps for Kids at the Border. Is Any of This Legal?

Jessica Mason Pieklo & Imani Gandy

Last week, a Department of Justice lawyer stunned the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals when she argued that it is “safe and sanitary” to confine immigrant children for indefinite periods of time without basic needs like soap or toothbrushes. In this episode of Boom! Lawyered, Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy explain the legal framework meant to protect these children and how the Trump administration intends to dismantle it.

[Photo: An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents detains an individual and put them in a van.]
Anti-immigrant law enforcement is not a new phenomenon, but the Trump administration appears to have radicalized law enforcement officials. John Moore/Getty Images

Last week, a Department of Justice lawyer stunned the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals when she argued that it is “safe and sanitary” to confine immigrant children for indefinite periods of time without basic needs like soap or toothbrushes. In this episode of Boom! Lawyered, Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy explain the legal framework meant to protect these children and how the Trump administration intends to dismantle it.

Transcript (PDF)