The Trump administration announced on Monday that it agreed not to expel a group of immigrant children it detained at a south Texas hotel.

Under an emergency declaration, the Trump administration cited the coronavirus pandemic and will instead allow them to seek to remain in the United States.

The decision came following reports that the government was secretly detaining unaccompanied children in hotels before deporting them during the pandemic.

The U.S. government held the children in custody for nearly 200 times for two months in three Hampton Inn & Suites hotels in Arizona, and two of the same hotel in Texas border cities.

Cases Filed 

Attorneys filed a lawsuit on July 24 to stop the immediate expulsion of a group of migrant children that were previously detained in a south Texas hotel.

The latest legal action was to challenge the government's policy that has banned most border-crossers, regardless of their age, from seeking asylum in the United States.

The lawsuit was filed before the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., representing the unknown number of children in U.S. government custody that was previously detained at a hotel in McAllen, Texas last week.

Immigration officials did not say how many children were being held at the McAllen hotel as of Thursday. They also did not provide their names.

The lawyers are asking the federal court in Washington to mandate the Department of Homeland Security to allow the children to talk to lawyers.

Meanwhile, Hilton confirmed on July 24 that the independently owned and managed Hampton Inn & Suites in McAllen, Texas has accepted reservations from a private contractor on behalf of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Hilton noted that this is not an activity that they want to support.

"The ownership of the Hampton Inn & Suites in McAllen has tonight confirmed that they have cancelled this business and that the minors and chaperones are no longer at the hotel. They have also confirmed that their property will not accept similar reservations in the future," according to Hilton's statement.

Previous Reports of Detainment

The U.S. government has been detaining children as young as one in hotels before deporting them to their home countries, according to an Aljazeera report.

A Texas Civil Rights Project representative has confirmed the claims and a lawyer with the organization has visited the hotel, where the children were being detained.

Lawyers and advocates said detaining unaccompanied migrant children in hotels exposes them to the risk of trauma. They added that it is not a place designed to hold them and cared for by contractors with unknown credentials.

Leecia Welch, a lawyer at the nonprofit National Center for Youth Law said they have created a shadow system in which "there's no accountability for expelling very young children."

Welch said there are no words to describe how disgraceful it is to sacrifice children to "advance heartless immigration policies." ICE declined to comment.

The immigration authorities said the contractors were transportation specialists. It added that they are non-law enforcement members trained to work with minors. 

The immigration officials further noted that the contractors ensure that all aspects of transport or stay are following the court statement.

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