Thousands of migrant children in the US could face new deportation risks as legal aid deal expires

HARLINGEN, Texas (AP) — Advocates warn that tens of thousands of migrant children who came to the United States alone could lose legal representation in immigration court and increase their risk of deportation as the Trump administration allows a contract with legal services providers to expire.

Friday marks the last day of a contract under which the federal government pays for legal services for children who enter the U.S. without a parent or guardian. The government contracts out those services to a network of nearly 100 legal groups across the country that provide services to roughly 20,000 children.

The Trump administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment on why it was allowing the contract to expire. But it comes as the administration has redoubled its efforts to achieve its policy of mass deportations, and after migrant children became a target for removal from the country during the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term in office.

As part of the expiring contract, the legal groups can enter government-funded shelters and give presentations to children about their legal rights, and directly represent the children as they go through immigration court proceedings.

But as that contract ends, the providers say it’s unclear what will happen come Monday or whether they'll be able to visit their clients in the shelters where they live.

“We have no understanding of what’s going to happen to those children come next week. We don’t know if they’re going to have legal representation. The government as of yet has not identified who will take over this representation,” said Melissa Lopez, the executive director of Estrella El Paso, during a news conference earlier this week. The organization currently represents 243 unaccompanied children in western Texas and New Mexico.

The providers warn that without a lawyer to assist them in court and help them navigate the complexities of immigration law, children will be much more likely to be deported back to countries they initially fled.

“The government is trying to eliminate our work in this program because they know that without attorneys children will be deported,” said Lopez.

The end of the contract comes as the legal service providers representing these children say they have not been paid for more than half a year. The organizations say that the Trump administration has been withholding payments as it demands detailed information from the providers about their clients that the providers say they have never been asked for before and that they ethically cannot provide.

“They are clearly trying to destroy the program by grinding down the financial health of nonprofits. We’ve seen layoffs and furloughs, and we will see a lot more of that if these invoices aren’t paid,” said Michael Lukens, the executive director of the Amica Center

Health and Human Services, which is responsible for caring for unaccompanied migrant children while they are in government care and which administers the contract, did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

Migrant children traveling alone are usually entrusted to U.S. government care, and there are various legal protections that apply to them once they’re in the U.S. and navigating the immigration system, including the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008.

The law said the government should facilitate legal representation for children put into deportation proceedings.

With some limited exceptions, it requires that children be placed in the “least restrictive setting possible,” which generally means they can be released to a sponsor, such as a relative in the U.S., while their immigration proceedings play out.

The children can apply for a specially protected status if they can’t return to their home country because of abuse or neglect and they can also apply for asylum.

Santana reported from Sacramento.