The Trump administration ended on Friday a federal contract that provides legal representation to almost 26,000 migrant children who entered the United States without a father or guardian, a movement that immigration lawyers, according to children, will leave children vulnerable to rapid deportation.
The contract provided funds for lawyers to represent minors who are under custody of the refugee resettlement office, at least 4,000 of which reside in California, in the Immigration Court.
Many of these children do not read or speak in English, and some are too young to read or speak at all, according to Joel Frost-Tift, an immigration lawyer with public advice.
“It will have a devastating effect on our customers,” said Frost-Tift. “Immigrants have between five and six times more likely to succeed in their case if they are represented by a lawyer, so if they lose representation, that will really be harmful to their case.”
The public advisor currently represents around 200 migrant children not accompanied in southern California. Frost-Tift said that lawyers will continue to fulfill their ethical duty to help with these cases for now, but without new funds, it is not clear how long they can do so.
It is a dilemma that around 100 legal assistance organizations throughout the country are now found after learning that the federal contract for children crossing the border without a tutor, which was in renewal on March 29, was completed.
Last month, the Trump administration temporarily arrested all the work completed under this contract. Days later, the United States Department of Health and Human Services reversed that decision.
Now, many legal organizations urge the Trump administration to reverse the course once again.
“The administration's decision to end these services undermines due process, disproportionately impacts vulnerable children and places children who have already experienced serious trauma at risk of more irreparable irreparable damage or exploits,” said Shaina Aber, executive director of the Acacia Justice Center, in a statement. “We urge the administration to reverse this decision.”
The Acacia Justice Center receives around $ 200 million in federal funds annually and subcontracts with non -profit organizations to ensure legal representation for around 26,000 migrant children.
On Friday, human and health services reported that they can continue to offer their free legal clinics of “knowing their rights” to migrant children, but must stop paying their legal representation.
Aber said that lawyers not only help children navigate a tumultuous legal system, but also help protect them from human trafficking and abuse.
Wendy Young, president of children who need a defense, also denounced the impact of funding funds on migrant children. She said it will make it “almost impossible” for children to appear before the court in their immigration hearings or remain in contact with immigration agencies.
“Vega the key lines of communication and coordination between unaccompanied vulnerable children and established institutions to guarantee their protection,” he said in a statement.
Unlike the Criminal Court, people in the Immigration Court do not have a guaranteed right to a lawyer.
Children can avoid deportation if they can meet one of the requirements to obtain a special immigrant youth state in the court. For example, they can demonstrate that they were victims of crime or human trafficking, they were abandoned or abused by their parents, or were prosecuted in their country of origin.
But obtaining this state is almost impossible without a lawyer.
Children represented by a lawyer present their hearings of the Immigration Court around 95% of the time, while those who do not have a lawyer appear about 33% of the time, according to a report by the American Imigration Council.
In recent years, thousands of children have been deported after not having presented their immigration audiences. Last month, the Trump administration ordered immigration agents to track and deported unaccompanied migrant children, according to an immigration and customs' immigration memorandum obtained by Reuters.
