The Trump administration has severed relationships with nearly one hundred legal organizations providing immigration services and is directing unaccompanied minors toward expedited court hearings, according to advocates and legal experts. A federal contract providing legal counsel to over 20,000 children is set to expire on 31 July. Federal officials have additionally withheld approximately $65 million in reimbursements to legal organizations since December, conditioning payment on disclosure of sensitive client information including unredacted medical records and immigration case details, according to Shaina Aber, executive director of the Acacia Center for Justice, which administers legal services for these children.
Legal advocates characterize the administration’s position as designed to accelerate deportations with reduced oversight. Ana Devereaux, senior managing attorney at the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, states the administration is working to eliminate legal representation to enable faster deportations. Aber warns that detailed disclosures of client information could create a framework for mass deportation. The funding dispute is prompting nonprofit organizations toward staff reductions, hiring freezes, and potential closure, leaving young immigrants to navigate immigration proceedings without counsel.
Data cited by legal experts indicates outcomes differ significantly based on representation. Elizabeth Young, a former regional deputy chief immigration judge, states that children without lawyers secure legal relief less than 10 percent of the time, with immigration judges nearly 100 times less likely to grant relief without counsel. Young, who resigned last year, characterizes forced navigation of immigration law without assistance as undermining due process protections.
Reports indicate federal officials are planning to relocate unaccompanied children to Texas in large numbers. Federal authorities initially approached the Texas attorney general’s office, led by Ken Paxton, for representation assistance, then contacted the Texas Indigent Defense Commission, a state entity focused on criminal rather than civil immigration matters. The Indigent Defense Commission’s executive director, Scott Ehlers, indicated the request would likely exceed his agency’s mandate. Major legal service providers, including Kids in Need of Defense, have withdrawn participation over unpaid reimbursements totaling millions of dollars.
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