Trump administration reverses its previous decision and reinstates legal aid for migrant children

[February 22, 2025]  By GISELA SALOMON and REBECCA SANTANA

MIAMI (AP) — Days after telling legal groups who help migrant children who arrive in America alone — some so young they are in diapers or their feet dangle from their chairs in court — that they must stop their work, the federal government Friday reversed itself.

The Trump administration told the groups that they can resume providing legal services to tens of thousands of unaccompanied children. The Acacia Center for Justice said that they received notice from the government of the reversal.

The notice came after the government on Tuesday suspended the program that provides legal representation to children who have arrived in the United States across the border with Mexico without parents or legal guardians. Several organizations that offer assistance to migrant children had criticized the measure and said at the time that the minors were at risk.

The $200 million contract allows Acacia and its subcontractors to provide legal representation to about 26,000 children and legal education to another 100,000 more.

The Friday notice from the United States Department of Interior obtained by The Associated Press does not explain the Trump administration decision to reinstate the program. I states that it “cancels” the order to halt legal services to migrant children.

“Acacia Center for Justice may resume all activities,” the short notice says.

Shaina Aber, executive director of Acacia said that they will continue to work with the government “to ensure that these critical services upholding the basic due process rights of vulnerable children are fully restored” and their partners can resume their work.

She warned, however, that this is a “critical moment to ensure that no child is forced to navigate” the immigration system alone.

Children cover their heads as they sit outside of a migrant shelter Wednesday, March 13, 2024, in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley, File)

Acacia said that in less than 48 hours, members of the public sent more than 15,000 letters to the Congress demanding the resumption of the program.

The program is funded by a five-year contract, but the government can decide at the end of each year if it renews it or not. The deadline for this year's decision is in March.

Michael Lukens, the executive director of Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, one of the subcontractors, said that despite the reversal he is still concerned.

“I’m very concerned because the attack on children is unprecedented and to even begin that is troubling,” Lukens said. He said if the stop-work order had remained in place, it would have left kids across the country without due process or protection.

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2008 created special protections for children who arrive alone in the U.S. The law said the government should facilitate legal representation for the children put into deportation proceedings, though it did not mandate every child have a lawyer.

Unaccompanied children under the age of 18 can request asylum, juvenile immigration status, or visas for victims of sexual exploitation.

Some of the organizations that provide legal representation said the decision to restore funds ensures the continuation of vital protections for vulnerable children.

“We urge the administration to stay this course by exercising the remaining year services under this existing contract,” said Wendy Young, president of the Kids in Need of Defense, one of the organizations that assists migrant children.

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Santana reported from Washington

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