A child occupies himself with screen time as his parents and other asylum seekers wait inside St. Paul and St. Andrew United Methodist Church in Manhattan Oct. 16, 2023 where they were seeking support from Venezuelans and Immigrants Aid, a non-profit organization that provides assistance to asylum seekers. The organization provides a weekly orientation into the asylum process that includes assistance in filing asylum and temporary protected status applications. It also provides english classes, peer support groups, and humanitarian assistance including clothing and food distribution.
California – A federal judge in California has ordered the Trump administration to temporarily reinstate legal aid for tens of thousands of unaccompanied migrant children, marking the latest legal setback for the administration’s immigration policies.
U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín of San Francisco granted a temporary restraining order late Tuesday, mandating the restoration of legal services for migrant children under 18 who are in the United States without a parent or guardian. The ruling comes after the Trump administration terminated a contract on March 21 with the Acacia Center for Justice, which provides these services through a network of legal aid groups.
Eleven subcontractor groups sued, arguing that the termination put 26,000 children at risk of losing legal representation. The plaintiffs contended that the government has an obligation under the 2008 Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) to ensure these vulnerable children have legal counsel.
Martínez-Olguín, a Biden appointee, sided with the advocacy groups, writing that the termination raised serious legal questions and that continued funding promotes efficiency and fairness in the immigration system. The order, effective Wednesday, runs through April 16 while the case proceeds.
The ruling is the third legal defeat in less than a week for the administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown. On Friday, a federal judge in Boston ruled that individuals with final deportation orders must have a “meaningful opportunity” to contest removal to a third country. On Monday, another San Francisco judge blocked the planned termination of protections for 350,000 Venezuelans whose legal status was set to expire on April 7.
The TVPRA of 2008 mandates protections for migrant children, many of whom lack the ability to navigate complex immigration proceedings. Some plaintiffs noted that their clients are too young to speak or are too traumatized to understand English, making legal representation crucial to their cases.
The Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of Refugee Resettlement defended the contract’s termination, arguing that taxpayers are not obligated to cover direct legal aid for migrant children, especially amid government cost-cutting efforts. They also claimed that federal courts lack jurisdiction over a contract that was set to expire at the end of March.
While Acacia has secured a new contract to provide legal orientations, including “know your rights” clinics, plaintiffs insist this does not replace full legal representation. Karen Tumlin of the Justice Action Center emphasized in court that Congress had allocated $5 billion for child representation and that the administration could not eliminate funding without a clear plan for assistance.
“They need to make sure to the greatest extent practicable that there is a plan,” Tumlin stated.
The ruling ensures that legal aid services will continue for now, but the broader legal battle remains unresolved. The case could set a precedent for future government obligations regarding legal representation for unaccompanied minors. As litigation continues, advocates warn that any disruption to these services could have dire consequences for children facing deportation alone.
