As the Trump administration moves to terminate a 28-year-old consent decree governing how immigrant children are detained in federal custody, a hearing will be held Friday in downtown Los Angeles to determine whether to maintain or strike down safeguards provided under the so-called “Flores settlement.”

Immigrant-rights groups allege there are ongoing violations of the settlement’s protections, including the prolonged detention of migrant children in punitive conditions.

Friday’s court hearing will focus on two opposing motions: the government’s motion to end the Flores agreement and the plaintiffs’ motion to enforce the settlement’s terms.

Approved in 1997, the Flores settlement requires that children be held in licensed, child-appropriate facilities and released to family members or g

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