The U.S. administration was ordered by a federal judge in California on Tuesday to temporarily reinstate legal aid for tens of thousands of migrant children who are in the country without a parent or guardian.
The Acacia Center for Justice, which offers legal assistance to unaccompanied migrant children under the age of 18 through a network of legal aid organizations that subcontract with the center, had its contract with the Republican administration terminated on March 21. Acacia is not a plaintiff in the lawsuit filed by eleven subcontractor groups, which claimed that 26,000 children were in danger of losing their lawyers.
The Pivotal 2008 Law
According to those organizations, a 2008 anti-trafficking law requires the government to give vulnerable children legal representation. The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 established particular safeguards for migrant children who are unable to independently navigate a complicated immigration system. According to the plaintiffs, some of their clients are too young to communicate, while others are too traumatized and lack English language skills.
Late Tuesday, San Francisco-based U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín issued a temporary restraining order. She wrote that while the case is still pending, a return to the status quo is warranted because advocates raised valid concerns about whether the administration had broken the 2008 law. The directive will go into effect on Wednesday and last until April 16.
According to the law, the government must make sure that all children who enter the nation alone have legal representation to represent them in court and to “protect them from mistreatment, exploitation, and trafficking” to the “greatest extent practicable.”
Ideas on the Administration’s Side, Return to the Status Quo as a Demand on the Plaintiffs’
A new agreement with the government requires Acacia to offer legal orientations, such as “know your rights” clinics.
At a court hearing Tuesday, Karen Tumlin of the Justice Action Center stated that plaintiffs are not requesting the contract be reinstated, but rather a return to the current situation, which involves using $5 billion appropriated by Congress to provide representation for children.
According to Jonathan Ross of the U.S. Department of Justice, legal clinics are able to provide their services at no cost, and the government continues to fund legally mandated initiatives like the “know your rights” clinics.
He stated, “They are still free to offer those services pro bono.”
Migrant Children in the US: Declining Representation and Rising Emotional Distress
According to the Vera Institute of Justice, only 64% of unaccompanied minors involved in immigration proceedings had legal representation between 2005 and 2017. Only 57% of children with pending cases have legal representation, according to the most recent data from 2024, continuing the downward trend in this representation rate since 2017. These legal defense gaps have serious and far-reaching repercussions. Children who may already be dealing with the trauma of migration and being separated from their loved ones will have an even harder time getting justice and protection if they don’t have an attorney.
Children who migrate alone are subject to particular time-related stressors. They run the risk of losing their eligibility for protections like Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) that are intended especially for minors as they get older. Enough time is needed to address trauma, establish trust with sponsors and legal advocates, and maintain their mental health and well-being—time that is rarely available. The provision of trauma-informed, culturally sensitive, and fervent representation is further complicated by state institutions, which frequently establish erratic and rigid legal timelines.
These difficulties are made worse by the U.S. immigration court system’s unpredictable pace. Children’s emotional suffering may worsen as a result of hurried cases that leave legal teams fumbling or postponed for months.
