Judge to consider the fate of an agreement on protecting immigrant children in US custody

A federal judge is set to hear a Trump administration request to end a long-standing policy on protections for immigrant children in federal custody. The Flores settlement limits how long Customs and Border Protection can hold immigrant children and requires safe conditions. Advocates argue the protections are necessary and have submitted accounts of poor conditions in detention centers. The Trump administration says conditions have improved since the settlement was formalized in 1997. But advocates for the children say the government is holding children beyond the time limits set out in the agreement. A hearing is set Friday in Los Angeles. The Trump administration request comes after the Biden administration successfully pushed to partially end the agreement last year.