Thread: Legal organizations told to stop federally funded work for unaccompanied migrant chil

Legal organizations told to stop federally funded work for unaccompanied migrant children

A stop-work order by the Interior Department halts legal work for children who crossed the border without their parents.

Feb. 19, 2025, 5:39 PM EST



The Trump administration has told organizations that provide federally funded legal representation to unaccompanied migrant children to halt the service.

The Interior Department sent a stop-work order to the nonprofit Acacia Center for Justice on Tuesday, cutting off funding for “all activities” under Acacia’s federal contract to provide legal services for unaccompanied migrants younger than 18, according to the text of the letter obtained by NBC News.

The Acacia Center works with a network of organizations across the country to provide legal assistance to immigrants. It has a contract with the Office of Refugee Resettlement to provide legal assistance to nearly 26,000 children who crossed the border without their parents.

The letter directs the center to “cease all services and the ordering of supplies” and to notify subcontractors “immediately” that a stop-work order has been issued.
A spokesperson for the Acacia Center said the move could result in fewer children having access to legal representation in the absence of federal funding. Any lawyers representing those minors as lawyers will now have to work for free or be paid through other sources.

Under U.S. law, immigrants are not guaranteed a right to free legal representation, as U.S. citizens are if they are accused of crimes. But federal funds have allowed nonprofit groups to provide lawyers for children, some of them too young to speak, who are making their way through the immigration system without parents or guardians.

“The stop work order is being implemented due to causes outside of your control and should not be misconstrued as an indication of poor performance by your firm,” the Interior Department letter says.

It is unclear why the most recent stop-work order, the second the Acacia Center for Justice has received in recent weeks, was issued. In January, the Justice Department issued a stop-work order to four legal access and education programs for immigrants run by the Acacia Center, but the Justice Department lifted it after a judge issued a temporary restraining order stemming from a lawsuit against the Trump administration.

A spokesperson for the Interior Department, which administers the federal contract, referred questions to the Department of Health and Human Services, which provides the funding. HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment or additional details about why the order was issued.

Reached for comment, the Justice Department did not respond on the record. Despite the stop work order, unaccompanied children are still able to get legal representation in removal proceedings regardless of if the legal services are federally funded.

Shaina Aber, the Acacia Center’s executive director, said in a statement: “The administration’s decision to suspend this program undermines due process, disproportionately impacts vulnerable children, and puts children who have already experienced severe trauma at risk for further harm or exploitation. We stand ready to work with the Department of Health and Human Services to review and rapidly restore these essential services so that Acacia and our partners can continue supporting vulnerable children.”

The Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, one of the Acacia Center’s subcontractors, said in a statement, “Stopping this funding will affect thousands of vulnerable children and families across the nation, including more than 800 in Michigan served by MIRC.”


https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/nat...igr-rcna192828