More than 24,000 unaccompanied migrant children across the United States could lose access to federally funded legal representation after a $200 million government contract expired Friday without a replacement, raising concerns that many minors will have to face immigration judges alone while navigating deportation proceedings.
The contract, administered by the Acacia Center for Justice through agreements with roughly 90 legal service providers nationwide, supports attorneys representing children who entered the U.S. without a parent or legal guardian. More than 1,400 of those children are in New York state, including over 700 in New York City, according to advocates.
"This is a very real risk that we anticipate will start Monday morning: that we will have children across New York City, across the United States' immigration courts, that will be appearing alone," Meena Shah, managing director of legal services at The Door, a New York nonprofit, told Gothamist.
The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), which oversees the contract, said it offered Acacia a temporary extension but the two sides could not agree on terms. ORR said the extension required providers to share additional information about the children they represent. Legal organizations said the requested data included confidential information about children and their sponsors that they were legally and ethically unable to disclose.
The contract's expiration follows months of financial uncertainty. Providers say the federal government has not reimbursed more than $65 million for work performed since last November, forcing many nonprofits to rely on reserve funds while preparing for layoffs and service reductions.
Michael Lukens, executive director of the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, told The Washington Post that the government appeared to be "trying to destroy the program by grinding down the financial health of nonprofits."
Advocates say the funding lapse comes as immigration authorities accelerate proceedings involving unaccompanied minors by scheduling court hearings and asylum interviews on much shorter timelines than in previous years. Without attorneys, children may be asked to respond to immigration charges, complete asylum applications or decide whether to accept voluntary departure without fully understanding the legal consequences.
The current dispute stems from the Trump administration's attempt earlier this year to terminate the legal services contract outright. That decision was later reversed after court intervention, temporarily restoring funding. Congress established the program nearly two decades ago to help protect unaccompanied children in immigration proceedings, and advocates argue legal representation remains essential given the complexity of U.S. immigration law.
Many children ultimately qualify for asylum, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status or other forms of humanitarian relief, outcomes that attorneys say are often difficult to obtain without legal counsel.
