Thousands of immigrant children losing legal representation

SAN ANTONIO — Tens of thousands of immigrant children who arrived in the United States as unaccompanied minors in recent years may be forced to face a judge alone after a federal contract providing them legal representation expired on Friday.

The leaders of several nonprofit organizations that provide legal services to immigrant children say they will need to scale back or shutter their operations altogether starting next week. Collectively they represent about 24,000 children who crossed the nation’s southern border without a parent. The groups have spent much of the last year providing legal counsel even though the federal government has not reimbursed them.

Without a renewed contract, the legal aid organizations say many children with pending cases before an immigration judge will have to defend themselves without a lawyer. Most do not have a legal status in the country but can potentially qualify for asylum or a special visa. Many do not speak English as their primary language, and attorneys say they are more likely to be ordered deported if they do not have a lawyer.

Michael Lukens, executive director of the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, which provides children legal representation in the Washington, D.C., area, said the contract’s expiration comes as immigration judges and enforcement officers are pressuring unaccompanied minors to return home by signing voluntary departure forms.

“The best chance that a child has for a fair day in court and due process is to have an attorney at their side,” Lukens said. “It’s very clear the government is trying to take away that one piece of the puzzle.”

The Office of Refugee Resettlement, which falls under the Department of Health and Human Services and oversees the shelters that house unaccompanied minors, said in a statement Thursday that the agency remains “fully compliant with its legal and regulatory obligations and does not act in any way that could dissuade a child from seeking appropriate legal relief.”

ORR officials said they offered to extend the existing contract so long as the providers share information about their clients. Several nonprofit leaders said the federal government was asking for confidential information about the children they serve and their sponsors — who are usually parents or relatives seeking family reunification. The organizations said they are legally and ethically unable to disclose such data and fear authorities could use it to target families during enforcement operations.

The Trump administration tried to halt some funding for attorneys to represent unaccompanied minors shortly after taking office last year. In February 2025, officials notified the Acacia Center for Justice that the organization needed to stop all work related to a $200 million contract that funds various groups providing the children with attorneys. But a few days later, officials reversed course and restored it without explanation.

Nevertheless, the Trump administration stopped reimbursing legal aid organizations who operate under the contract last November. The groups estimate they are owed $65 million in payments, and some have had to dip into their reserves in order to keep working.

Congress passed bipartisan legislation nearly two decades ago that mandates the funding to protect children from exploitation. The federal government, providers argue, is obligated to pay these organizations with the money lawmakers appropriated.

“They are clearly trying to destroy the program by grinding down the financial health of nonprofits,” Lukens said. “We have seen layoffs and furloughs and we will see a lot more of that if these invoices are not paid.”

The legal services program also allows attorneys to monitor conditions inside federally funded shelters that house unaccompanied minors, some of which are not regulated by state officials. Many of the children in shelters are waiting to be reunited with parents or relatives, who can claim them by providing identification and financial and biometric information to the government to prove their relation.

Fewer than 2,500 children are currently in federal custody, and on average they are staying there for 117 days — four times longer than they did a year ago, federal data shows.

Melissa Lopez, the executive director of Estrella del Paso, a legal services provider, said the complexity of the nation’s immigration laws make it necessary for children to have legal representation. She recounted the case of a 7-year-old boy who went before an immigration judge in Texas. He told the judge he wanted to return to his home country, where his father had been deported.

His lawyer helped him navigate the best way to do that. Immigrants can file for a voluntary departure to leave the country and avoid a deportation order with more severe consequences, but a young child, she said, would not know the difference or how to do that.

“We cannot expect a child to have the level of understanding of these legal differences,” Lopez said. “It’s absurd.”

Lopez said her organization will likely have to scale back its services in far west Texas and southern New Mexico. A year ago, Estrella had a team of 30 staff employees and attorneys. She expects just three staff members to continue serving 243 children in the weeks ahead. The organization is still waiting on $1.2 million in federal reimbursements for legal services provided through July, Lopez said.

“It’s not a question of can philanthropy fill the gap,” Lopez said. “The issue is the federal government is not meeting its obligations under the law.”