Los Angeles, California - The Trump administration is seeking to end basic protections for children in US immigration custody – the latest alarming move in its mass deportation campaign.

The Justice Department on Thursday filed a court motion to terminate the Flores Settlement Agreement, claiming it has "prevented the federal government from effectively detaining and removing families."

The 1997 consent decree stipulates that children in immigration detention must be provided adequate food, water, and clean clothes and limits the time they can be held in custody.

During his first term, Trump's administration sought to end the Flores Settlement Agreement but was blocked by Los Angeles-based US District Court Judge Dolly Gee, who in 2015 also extended the protections to cover not only unaccompanied minors but also migrant children detained with their parents.

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"After 40 years of litigation and 28 years of judicial control over a critical element of U.S. immigration policy by one district court located more than 100 miles from any international border, it is time for this case to end," the Justice Department wrote this week.

Reports of mistreatment and abuse of children in US immigration facilities are long-standing over successive administrations, but many fear a termination of the Flores Settlement Agreement could lead to even worse conditions for those youth.

Immigrants' rights advocates have already indicated they will continue the fight to ensure the Flores Settlement Agreement's continuation.

"Children who seek refuge in our country should be met with open arms – not imprisonment, deprivation, and abuse," said Sergio Perez, executive director of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, which is part of the co-counsel team defending the protections.

"The Trump Administration’s move to dismiss this agreement, which prevents the government from imprisoning children in brutal conditions indefinitely, is another lawless step towards sacrificing accountability and human decency in favor of a political agenda that demonizes refugees," Perez added.