Lawyers from various rights groups filed a lawsuit on Friday against federal immigration authorities, claiming they are inadequately addressing the deportation of illegal immigrants.

Rights groups, one of which is the American Civil Liberties Union, claim that the federal immigration authorities are disobeying U.S. laws that guarantee migrants fair opportunity to seek asylum if they are refugees from extreme violence in their home country.

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Specifically the suit was filed to address the firm deportation of migrants without legal representation. The focal point for the suit is the town of Artesia, New Mexico, which has a processing center that the rights groups label a deportation mill due to the alleged barriers in place that prevent migrants from having lawyers, Al Jazeera reports.

"These mothers and their children have sought refuge in the United States after fleeing for their lives from threats of death and violence in their home countries," Cecillia Wang, director of the ACLU's Immigrant Rights Project said in a statement.

But federal authorities deny migrants these basic rights and core American values, Wang continued, adding that we should not deny people refuge outright and send them back into life threatening situations.

One of the plaintiffs is a mother who had fled El Salvador with her 10-month-old son due to threats of violence from gangs. A gang tried to convince her to become an inside informant against a rival gang, but when she refused, they told her she and her son would be killed unless she left.

Children fleeing violence in Central American countries has been rising. Since October there have been more than 57,000 children caught along the border, all of them alone, unaccompanied by parents or relatives.

Another 22,000 have been caught with their parents.

Honduran morgue director Hector Hernandez told Times that the fear of deportation is not unwarranted, claiming at least five to 10 children had been killed upon returning to Honduras since February.

"There are many youngsters who only three days after they've been deported are killed, shot by a firearm," he said.

Tagsimmigration, U.S. immigration policy, Central America, children, aclu