Legal Service Providers Demand Immediate Action as Unaccompanied Children Languish in Immigration Court Without Legal Representation
- immdef
- 8 hours ago
- 5 min read
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 24, 2025
Media Contacts:
Immigration courts nationwide are experiencing massive disruptions and lack of meaningful due process for vulnerable unaccompanied children due to the government’s elimination of legal representation services.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — A federal district court heard oral arguments in Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto (CLSEPA) v. HSS on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, to weigh whether to grant a preliminary injunction to protect critical legal services for unaccompanied immigrant children. On March 21, 2025, the Trump Administration partially terminated the program that allows legal service providers to represent children who entered the United States alone, putting 26,000 children at risk of losing their attorneys. The plaintiffs are fighting to resume legal representation to protect unaccompanied children, which is congressionally mandated under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) and the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s Foundational Rule. The court granted an emergency Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) on April 1, 2025, that is set to terminate on April 30, 2025, at 7:59 AM PDT. On April 4, 2025, the Trump administration sought to dissolve the TRO and, in response, the judge requested a status report on the government’s compliance with the order and later denied the motion to dissolve. For 23 days there has been no action from the government to ensure legal representation for thousands of children in government custody. As a result, thousands of children, some under a year old, have been forced to represent themselves in court nationwide.
On April 24, 2025 the co-counsel and plaintiffs held a virtual press call following the Preliminary Injunction hearing. A recording of the press call is available here on Zoom. The password is R*4!3M.=
In response to yesterday’s hearing, co-counsel and several plaintiff organizations released the following statements:
"The children that we have served through the Unaccompanied Children Program range in age from babies to teenagers," said Laura St. John, Legal Director at the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project. "Right now, here in Arizona, we know of two children – a one-year-old and one who just turned three – who we are not able to represent because of the termination of this program. This means that these babies are currently going through deportation proceedings without a lawyer. Right now, children are being asked to appear in court extremely quickly, while simultaneously legal services are being slashed, meaning that kids' due process rights are being threatened more than ever. It is impossible for any child - never mind babies - to have a fair day in court without an attorney. The Florence Project is proud to be part of this litigation challenging the government's attacks on unaccompanied immigrant children."
“Representation for unaccompanied children can mean the difference between instability and security, and in many cases, even the difference between life and death,” said Mariam Kelly, Director of Pro Bono at Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto (CLSEPA). “Due to the government’s actions, our waiting lists for children are piling up and we can’t touch them. We typically receive referrals from unaccompanied kids in foster care, and we’ve had horrible conversations with caseworkers, telling them we can no longer guarantee representation for unaccompanied immigrant children who are placed into foster care after release from ORR custody, even as their immigration court hearings and other important deadlines are looming.”
“The Government keeps trying to hide behind a contract to avoid complying with the law but it cannot contract away its legal obligations to provide counsel for unaccompanied children. This case is about kids, not contracts.” Sam Hsieh, Deputy Program Director, Immigration Impact Lab, Amica Center for Immigrant Rights
“Let me be very clear: we are not asking for the government to do its job in a particular way,” said Karen Tumlin, Founder and Director of Justice Action Center. “We are simply asking for it to do its job. It has indicated that it would comply with the court’s wishes by reverting to the status quo. Meanwhile, countless kids are facing a deportation machine with no one on their side—and that is precisely why we were in court yesterday arguing on our motion for preliminary injunction. We will continue working alongside our legal service plaintiffs litigating this case until the government treats children as children.”
“Many organizations formed their children’s representation programs based on the legal protections of the TVPRA, and over the years have developed the expertise needed to represent children in often very complicated cases in both immigration and state courts,” said Alvaro M. Huerta, Director of Litigation and Advocacy at Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef). “This abrupt elimination of services has caused total chaos. Children are expected to proceed in court by themselves before a judge, against a highly skilled ICE attorney, in a language foreign to them. One of our clients is so developmentally delayed he does not understand where he is. We continue to represent him because it is our ethical responsibility to do so and because he is simply not competent to navigate our complicated immigration system alone - no child is.”
Organizational plaintiffs in the lawsuit include the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, Estrella del Paso, Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto (CLSEPA), Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project (FIRRP), Galveston-Houston Immigrant Representation Project (GHIRP), Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef), National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC), Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP), Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN), Social Justice Collaborative, and Vermont Asylum Assistance Project. Plaintiffs are represented by the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, Immigrant Defenders Law Center, and Justice Action Center.
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Amica Center for Immigrant Rights works alongside immigrant children and adults at risk of deportation in the Capital Region and beyond. They provide direct legal representation, Know Your Rights presentations, impact litigation, advocacy, and training to attorneys to defend immigrants’ rights. Their clients include arriving asylum seekers from around the world, as well as long-term U.S. residents with strong family and community ties.
The Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef) is a next-generation social justice law firm that defends immigrant communities against injustices in the immigration system. Our programs are a first step towards realizing the long-term goal of providing universal representation to all immigrants facing deportation. ImmDef is now the largest non‐profit, pro bono provider of deportation defense in California, with offices in Los Angeles, Riverside, Santa Ana, and San Diego.
Justice Action Center (JAC) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting for greater justice for immigrant communities by combining litigation and storytelling. JAC is committed to bringing additional litigation resources to address unmet needs, empower clients, and change the corrosive narrative around immigrants in the U.S. Learn more at justiceactioncenter.org and follow us on Bluesky, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
The Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project provides free legal and social services to detained adults and unaccompanied immigrant children facing deportation throughout Arizona. The Florence Project is committed to ensuring that all immigrants facing removal have access to counsel, understand their rights, and are treated fairly and humanely. With offices in Phoenix, Tucson, and Florence, they are the only organization providing free legal and social services to adults and children in immigration detention in Arizona.
Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto (CLSEPA) is a community-based organization that provides legal assistance to low-income individuals and families in East Palo Alto and the surrounding community. Their practice areas include housing, immigration, and economic advancement, and they provide legal assistance and advice to over 6,000 residents in need per year.