Flores plaintiffs attorneys have already submitted a motion to block the new rules from going into effect to U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee, who oversees Flores’ implementation. Gee sits in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the same court where the multi-state coalition is now filing its lawsuit.
California is also concerned that the federal government will establish family detention facilities in the state, but that local authorities will be denied the ability to inspect conditions there, as they can with group homes and other residential programs for children that require a license from the California Department of Social Services.
Currently, there are three ICE family detention facilities, in Texas and Pennsylvania, with the capacity to hold more than 3,000 people. But since last October, immigration authorities have arrested or encountered nearly 470,000 people traveling in families, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection numbers. Migrant parents with children who are found to have a credible asylum claim are often released on bond or with a GPS ankle monitor to await their hearings in immigration court.
Other states that joined the lawsuit are: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.
Becerra announced that the state is also asking a federal court in Northern California to block another Trump administration rule that would penalize lawful immigrants seeking green cards if they use public benefits such as food stamps, Medi-Cal or public housing vouchers. The state filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of the so called "public charge" rule on Aug. 16.
California has filed nearly 60 lawsuits against the Trump administration, on environmental, immigration and other issues, under Becerra’s tenure.
This story has been updated.