The Trump administration on Friday restored a program that funds lawyers representing unaccompanied minors in immigration court, days after halting it with little explanation.
“This letter cancels the Stop Work Order issued Feb. 18, 2025,” said a memo to the Acacia Center for Justice, which is contracted to administer the nationwide program.
The program provides legal representation to about 26,000 children, some too young to read or speak. Many of those children survived abuse, persecution or trafficking and are in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. The Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees that agency, did not respond to a request for comment.
In California, the program represents about 4,000 children who don’t have a legal guardian.
“We welcome the news,” said Shaina Aber, executive director of the Acacia Center for Justice. “We will continue working alongside the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that these critical services upholding the basic due process rights of vulnerable children are fully restored and our partners in the legal field — legal lifelines safeguarding the rights and well-being of children seeking safety — can resume their work without future disruption or delay.”
The decision came after supporters flooded Congress members with letters of support.
But advocates worry the program may eventually lose funding, as the administration continues to strip away support from immigrants in the country without status.
President Trump signed an executive order Wednesday aimed at cutting off undocumented immigrants from any federal benefits. The order directs the Department of Government Efficiency and the Office of Management and Budget to identify in the next 30 days federal funding that is spent on those here illegally.
Though children in the immigration system do have the right to an attorney, they do not have the the right to a court-appointed one.
Acacia found that since 2017, about 57% of children with pending cases have legal representation, a figure that had dropped from previous years.
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