Migrant children who wait in makeshift camps along the US-Mexico border for the Border Patrol to process them are in the agency’s custody and are subject to a long-standing court-supervised agreement that set standards for their treatment, a judge ruled.
Advocates say the US government has a responsibility for the children and that Border Patrol often directs migrants to the camps, sometimes even driving them there. Decades ago, the typical person attempting to enter the US was an adult male from Mexico seeking work. The legal challenge focuses on two areas in California: one between two border fences in San Diego and another in a remote mountainous region east of San Diego.
Gee said there was “significant evidence” that Customs and Border Protection, of which Border Patrol is a part, has physical control over minors at the outdoor locations.