Thousands of migrant children in the US could face new deportation risks as legal aid deal expires
The nonprofit says 26,000 children could be left without counsel as providers warn of unpaid work and staff cuts.
- A federal contract from the HHS funding legal representation for roughly 20,000 unaccompanied immigrant children expires today, leaving advocates concerned about the future of legal services for minors in United States care.
- The Trump administration has withheld over $65 million in congressionally appropriated funding since late last year, forcing nonprofit advocacy groups to trim operations and refuse new clients as part of broader deportation efforts.
- Advocates warn that "fewer than 1% of immigrant children are granted immigration relief" without counsel, forcing minors to navigate complex court proceedings alone.
- Service providers, including Acacia Center for Justice, report they "do not know who, if anyone, will take over the work" when the contract expires, creating uncertainty for 20,000 children.
- This expiration occurs as Trump intensifies mass deportation policies, while critics point to a record of mistreating unauthorized immigrant children through detention in facilities reportedly plagued by abuse allegations.
145 Articles
145 Articles
Louisiana Illuminator
Legal services contract expires, and unaccompanied immigrant children face deportation
A 10-year-old Honduran immigrant who came into the United States as an unaccompanied minor carries her baby cousin on April 25, 2021, after reuniting with extended family in Sellersburg, Indiana. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images) WASHINGTON — More than 20,000 unaccompanied immigrant children Monday lost their legal representation because the Trump administration has not entered into a new agreement to take over their legal services after it let…
Arizona Mirror
Unaccompanied immigrant children face deportation after legal services agreement expires
A 10-year-old Honduran immigrant who came into the United States as an unaccompanied minor carries her baby cousin on April 25, 2021, after reuniting with extended family in Sellersburg, Indiana. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images) WASHINGTON — More than 20,000 unaccompanied immigrant children Monday lost their legal representation because the Trump administration has not entered into a new agreement to take over their legal services after it let…
DeLauro says Trump policies are keeping immigrant children in federal custody longer
U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) (Molly Ingram / WSHU )U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) has called attention to the plight of unaccompanied immigrant children in federal custody after an oversight visit to a transitional foster care site in New Haven.Children at the site, some as young as five, are being kept there by the federal government’s Office of Refugee Settlement, separated from their families for hundreds of days, in violation of…
Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier
Thousands arrested after child migrant agency tips
The Office of Refugee Resettlement shared more than 460,000 leads with ICE since January 2025, internal data showed.
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