Critics decry Trump administration's move to assign government lawyers to migrant kids' cases

MIAMI (AP) — The Trump administration is creating a team of attorneys to represent children who traveled alone to the United States in immigration proceedings, which critics say would deprive them of having lawyers who aren't employed by the government and could put them at greater risk of deportation.

The U.S. Health and Human Services Department lawyers will “provide direct legal advice and counsel” to unaccompanied migrant children, according to an announcement in the Federal Register signed by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The decision, announced last week without fanfare, offered no details beyond that broad mandate.

Health and Human Services said in a statement that its Unaccompanied Alien Children Legal Representation Division will work under its general counsel's direction toward “safely reuniting these children with their families and ensuring they have the legal support they need.”

“This new division will give the Department an additional mechanism to provide these children direct legal support while dedicated public servants work around the clock to safely reunify them with their families,” the department told The Associated Press in a brief statement. It didn't answer additional questions, including whether it would continue to contract with nongovernmental groups for legal representation or when its new legal division is expected to be fully operational.

The move appears to lay the groundwork for one of the biggest changes since guaranteed free legal representation for unaccompanied migrant children was introduced in 2008. It comes after the administration cut ties with the Acacia Center for Justice, a nongovernmental organization that managed 24,000 cases and held a contract to provide representation through a vast network of legal service providers.

The change means migrant children will not have an independent representative to advocate for them who doesn't have a conflict of interest, said Shaina Aber, the Acacia Center's executive director.

“Placing children’s legal representation and services inside of the same agency that holds children in federal immigration custody is an unprecedented step that does not meet basic standards of independence of counsel,” Aber said. It “will only give HHS new opportunities to forsake children’s rights and well-being.”

Wendy Young, president of Kids in Need of Defense, a nonprofit that provides free legal representation and social services to unaccompanied children, called the creation of the new in-house HHS legal team “part of a pattern of attacks that this administration has engaged in, in terms of undermining zealous representation of unaccompanied children in their immigration proceedings.”

The new division will work independently from other government agencies that deal with the minors, including the HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement, which is responsible for the custody and care of the children who arrive in the U.S. without a parent or legal guardian.

There is some precedent for government-paid attorneys defending clients against government prosecutors in civilian and military courts, but as criminal defense lawyers and not in immigration court.

But Young noted that the child's lawyer, the judge, and government attorneys seeking deportation will all be federal employees. Judges are appointed by the Justice Department and prosecutors work at the Department of Homeland Security.

“A government attorney who’s employed by the government most likely would be coached and encouraged to take the position of encouraging the child to agree to voluntary departure and to leave the United States rather than to present a full representation of the facts of their case,” Young said.

Amid the uncertainty, children have been going to their court hearings without legal representation lately, according to advocates.

Americans for Immigrant Justice, another nonprofit that provides free legal representation to unaccompanied immigrant children, said it has been challenging to secure lawyers for the minors since the government suspended funding to legal aid organizations on July 31 through Acacia.

Sui Chung, the group's executive director, said the need for legal representation exceeds the available resources.

“To deny legal counsel to the most vulnerable among us — children who have already fled trauma — is a fundamental breakdown of the fairness our Constitution promises," Chung said. “Children deserve our strongest protection."

The government recently awarded a contract to another organization, Our Rescue, with a potential value of up to $244 million. The transition to Our Rescue, which has been challenged by Acacia, has led to short-term arrangements, including a temporary contract with the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants.