Trump Administration Lets Legal Aid Contract for Unaccompanied Immigrant Children Expire

The federal contract that funded nearly 100 nonprofit legal groups to represent about 20,000 unaccompanied immigrant children has expired, ending a key source of counsel for minors in immigration court. The Office of Refugee Resettlement has withheld roughly $65 million in reimbursements to the Acacia Center for Justice, which distributes the funding to organizations across the United States. Advocates warn that without attorneys, fewer than 10 % of these children win the right to remain in the country, and the loss of representation could accelerate deportations and expose youths to further trauma.

Bryan Chavez, a former client who now works as a case worker, said, “Everything changed when attorneys from the Immigration Defenders Law Center arrived.” Acacia Center for Justice Executive Director Shaina Abersaid warned, “Children who have fled violence, trafficking, and abuse will wake up tomorrow without the legal support they were promised.” Erin Maxwell of Legal Services for Children called the move “a blatant attack on children’s wellbeing.”