Reno v. Flores

In Reno v. Flores, 507 U.S. 292 (1993), the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a policy in the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to arrest increasing numbers of alien juveniles who are not accompanied by their parents or other related adults. The Court rejected a lawsuit by a class of alien juveniles so arrested and held in INS custody pending their deportation hearings, who argued that the Constitution and immigration laws require them to be released into the custody of "responsible adults."

Justice Antonin Scalia wrote the opinion for the Court. Justices John Paul Stevens and Harry Blackmun dissented.