Trump administration halts funding for legal aid for migrant children
The Trump administration has cut funding to the program that provides legal representation to tens of thousands of unaccompanied migrant children, according to a memo issued Friday by the Interior Department, which handles contracts for the Office of Refugee Resettlement.
According to the memo obtained by ABC News, organizations that collectively receive over $200 million in federal grants were told on Friday that the contract was partially terminated, ending the funding for legal representation and for the recruitment of attorneys to represent migrant children.
The only funding that remains from the contract is for "Know Your Rights" informational presentations that are given to unaccompanied migrant children in detention centers.
"The government reserves the right to terminate this contract, or any part hereof, for its sole convenience," the memo says. "In the event of such termination, the Contractor shall immediately stop all work hereunder and shall immediately cause any and all of its suppliers and subcontractors to cease work."
Currently, 26,000 migrant children receive legal representation through the funding.
A representative for the Department of Heath and Human Services, which oversees the Office of Refugee Resettlement, did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
Last month, the Trump administration issued a similar memo ordering organizations to immediately stop work on the $200 million contract -- but later rescinded the order.
ABC News has reported on how thousands of unaccompanied children are representing themselves in immigration court due to a shortage of attorneys. In 2023, only 56% of unaccompanied minors in immigration courts were represented by counsel, according to data from the Department of Justice.
For unaccompanied minors, having an attorney could be the determinative factor as to whether they get to stay in the U.S. or are forced to return to their home country, experts say.
Michael Lukens, the executive director for the Amica Center, which represents migrant children in the Washington, D.C., area, called the halting of funding "unlawful."
"It is particularly cruel to make children go to court alone, and it is a continuing expansion of Trump's war against immigrants," Lukens said. "And it's sad that we're now at a point where he has set his sights on children."
