New Trump Rule Would Allow Government to Detain Migrant Families Indefinitely

The Primary: The Trump administration unveiled a new rule that would allow border officials to detain migrant families long-term.

• Who? What? Why?: A 1997 court decision, known as the Flores agreement, states that the government cannot detain families for more than 20 days. The Flores agreement was what led the Trump administration to separate families last year. By separating kids from their parents, the Trump administration could circumvent Flores and detain the parents indefinitely. (Check out a history of the Flores agreement written by the NYT here.)

• The Baseline: The rule faces an uphill legal battle. It has to be approved by a federal court first, according to the NYT. The new set of rules is also almost certain to face legal challenge. Added note: A 2001 Supreme Court case bars the government from detaining migrants for longer than 180 days, as Axios reports.