Judge asked to appoint monitor in immigrant detention accord

Immigrant rights lawyers are asking a federal judge to appoint a special monitor to oversee a longstanding legal agreement on the detention of children caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, an accord at the center of a lawsuit set to be heard next month in a California appeals court.

The request is part of a motion filed Tuesday in Los Angeles federal court by attorneys who say officials continue to violate a July 2015 court order that immigrant children should be released "without unnecessary delay" from detention centers, including two in Texas. It also says kids can't be held in centers not licensed as child-care facilities.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security says the agency is complying with the terms of the agreement and the court order.