Legal aid for migrant children in U.S. shelters to end, raising deportation fears

"And they've come to the United States seeking safety and protection. And what this administration is asking us to do now is to turn our backs on them completely. And they will undoubtedly be sent to harmful, dangerous situations. And I worry some will be killed if they lose their lawyers," Alexa Sendukas, an attorney with the Acacia Center for Justice, said in an interview with NPR.

Broader immigration policy shift

The end of the legal-aid contracts is the latest in a series of policy shifts since the start of the administration of Donald Trump that have reshaped the U.S. immigration system. The administration has moved to expand expedited removal, restrict asylum eligibility, and step up enforcement, including the deportation of children already in the country without legal status.

Melissa Lopez, a supervising attorney with the Acacia Center for Justice, said caseworkers in Texas shelters have already begun telling children that their attorneys will no longer be available. "They don't understand what it means," Lopez told NPR. "They keep asking, 'When is my lawyer coming back?'"

Michael Lukens, executive director of the Acacia Center for Justice, estimated that at least 3,000 children currently in ORR custody could lose representation under the new arrangement. He warned that the legal-aid cut would funnel more children into immigration courts without counsel, where removal orders are far more common among unrepresented respondents.

Efforts to fill the gap

The policy change also affects older youth who have already been released from ORR shelters to sponsors across the country. Attorneys say they have been notified that their funding will end before many cases are resolved, potentially stranding clients in the middle of their asylum claims. NPR reported that the legal organizations received termination notices from ORR in recent days and were given little time to wind down their caseloads.

The administration's broader immigration agenda has included pushing to dismantle the legal-aid infrastructure that has grown up around unaccompanied minors since 2018. Critics, including Democratic members of Congress and immigrant-rights coalitions, have said the cuts undermine access to counsel for children who cannot effectively represent themselves in court.

The American Civil Liberties Union and other advocacy groups have called for emergency funding to keep the legal-aid programs operating while Congress debates the administration's immigration budget. Pro-bono networks and bar associations have also begun recruiting volunteer attorneys to take on cases, though advocates say volunteer capacity is unlikely to replace the federal contracts that have sustained the work.

Legal challenges and next steps

Acacia Center for Justice and its partner organizations have said they will continue to represent their existing clients for as long as they can and are exploring emergency court actions to challenge the termination of the contracts. Several legal services providers have also filed requests with federal immigration courts to delay hearings for children whose attorneys have been cut off.

The Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees ORR, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The administration has previously argued that the legal-aid programs represented an overreach of federal funding and that immigration judges, not attorneys, should evaluate children's claims.