Thousands of immigrant children risk losing lawyers amid U.S. funding cuts

Thousands of unaccompanied immigrant children in the United States face the imminent loss of their legal representation as government funding contracts are being severed, advocates warned this week. The Trump administration has ended ties with nearly a hundred legal organizations nationwide that provide immigration advice, pushing children into expedited court hearings.

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The Trump administration is working to strip unaccompanied children of legal representation so they can be deported faster and with less scrutiny. We cannot allow that to happen.

Federal officials are set to terminate a contract providing legal counsel to more than 20,000 children on July 31. Attorneys report that organizations have already been denied reimbursement for $65 million in work completed since December. This refusal comes with an ultimatum: organizations must violate their young clients' confidentiality and surrender sensitive information, such as un-redacted medical evaluations and data about their immigration cases.

"These sorts of detailed disclosures could provide the government with, really, a roadmap for mass deportation of children," said Shaina Aber, executive director of the Acacia Center for Justice, a contractor administering these legal services. The federal administration's ultimatum is forcing many non-profits toward layoffs, hiring freezes, or even financial collapse, virtually ensuring that young immigrants will have to navigate the complex legal system alone.

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These sorts of detailed disclosures could provide the government with, really, a roadmap for mass deportation of children.

"Without a lawyer, children win the right to stay in the United States less than 10% of the time. Immigration judges are nearly 100 times less likely to grant relief to a child without counsel," stated Elizabeth Young, a former regional deputy chief immigration judge. She added, "When children are forced to navigate one of the most complex areas of law alone, that promise of fairness becomes little more than an illusion."

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Without a lawyer, children win the right to stay in the United States less than 10% of the time. Immigration judges are nearly 100 times less likely to grant relief to a child without counsel.

Experts warn that an immigration system designed to carefully assess children's legal claims is being reshaped to facilitate mass deportations. Children are reportedly being ordered deported before other government agencies can process their applications to remain in the country legally. "These children are not and should never be leverage in a political game. They are human beings – kids who have a legally and morally recognized right to have their cases heard," Aber said.

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Due process is the foundation of American justice … When children are forced to navigate one of the most complex areas of law alone, that promise of fairness becomes little more than an illusion.