Ruling Comes after Weeks of Federal Government Delays to Implement Temporary Restraining Order
SAN FRANCISCO– A federal district court once again ordered the Trump administration to fund attorneys for unaccompanied children, reversing a move the administration had made when it cut funding to legal service providers that specialize in representing vulnerable immigrant children who would otherwise be left to face the deportation system alone. The order is the latest move in CLSEPA v. the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), a lawsuit filed shortly after the funding was initially cut. While the court entered a temporary restraining order on April 1 ordering the government to comply, the government has yet to provide funding to ensure representation for children. This funding is congressionally mandated under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA).
“This preliminary injunction is vital to ensure that more children are not left defenseless in a system designed to work against them,” said Adina Appelbaum, Program Director of the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights Immigration Impact Lab. “The court has made it clear: the government must restore legal services for unaccompanied children. This isn’t a policy debate. It’s a legal obligation. It’s a human obligation. And so far, the government has failed both. No unaccompanied child should face deportation alone. No system should abandon babies and toddlers – especially when the consequences are this dire.”
“We are grateful that the court has recognized how critical these services are to immigrant children,” said Laura St. John, Legal Director of the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project. “With each day that this program has been terminated, children have been harmed. In the weeks since the termination, children here in Arizona and across the country have been left to face a complex and often adversarial legal system on their own. No child should have to face cou alone, and we’re hopeful this decision will ensure that all children will have legal support and representation again.”
In its order, the court noted, “The TVPRA’s provisio that HHS ‘shall ensure’ counsel to represent unaccompanied children ‘to the greatest extent practicable’ requires something more than zero expenditure where appropriated funds are available and the agencies fail to show any effort to ensure representation through alternative means.”
“Galveston-Houston Immigrant Representation Project (GHIRP) celebrates the court’s order, protecting due process rights and access to representation for the most vulnerable among us,” said Chiqui Sanchez Kennedy, Executive Director of GHIRP. “No child should be forced to face court proceedings alone, yet many have since the arbitrary termination of legal services for children. We are eager to get back to serving our clients, who can now rest assured knowing that we will continue advocating by their side.”
“Tonight’s court order allows us to get back to our mission driven work protecting the rights of and advocating for children,” said Melissa M. Lopez, Executive Director of Estrella del Paso. “During this lapse in services, we have seen critical situations develop for children in the El Paso region and been unable to intervene. We are ready to litigate and fight for every one of the children we are called to serve. Among them is Maikelys, a two-year-old who has been separated from her family and is in need of court intervention to reunite her with her loved ones.”
“With each passing day, unaccompanied children remain scared, alone, and forced to navigate the complex immigration system without help,” Mariam Kelly, Pro Bono Director, Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto. “The government’s failure to comply with the court’s order leaves these children without the skilled, compassionate attorneys they need to defend their rights. We commend the court for recognizing the urgency of the harm these children face, and urge the government to act swiftly in response. In the weeks since funding has been cut, legal service providers have documented catastrophic consequences: children – including toddlers – left to represent themselves. Providers have noted at least one deportation of a minor.”
“Today’s order should send a clear message to the federal government: Failure to provide a speedy solution to the mess they created is not an option,” said Karen Tumlin, Founder and Director of Justice Action Center. “We have seen the government drag its feet for far too long, and children are paying the price.”
“The court’s decision means that immigration lawyers across the country can get back to doing what we do best: protecting children and their rights,” said Lindsay Toczylowski, President and CEO of Immigrant Defenders Law Center. “The judge soundly rejected the Trump administration’s attempts to isolate vulnerable children from their legal advocates and reaffirmed that every child deserves due process in immigration court. The court’s order tonight signals to the government that children’s safety matters, their rights matter, and attempts to put them in harm’s way will be stopped. We remain steadfastly committed to our clients and to the idea that no child should be forced to stand alone in court when their life and safety are at stake.”
“We are deeply grateful for the court’s order recognizing the government’s obligation to ensure that unaccompanied children are provided legal representation in their immigration proceedings,” said Ashley Harrington, Managing Attorney of the RMIAN Children’s Program. “We call on the government to follow the court’s order so that children will not be stripped of their access to counsel any longer. No child should have to go through these high-stakes, complicated legal proceedings alone.”
“We are gratified and relieved to see the rights of immigrant children vindicated,” said Lisa Koop, Director of Legal Services at the National Immigrant Justice Center. “In finding the government cannot abruptly end access to legal services for immigrant children, the Court honors congressional intent and restores the possibility that children facing adversarial deportation proceedings will not stand alone. We celebrate this moment and prepare to continue advocacy for all immigrant children; so that they may have access to the futures they deserve.”
Plaintiffs have shared dozens of pages of evidence of the continuing harm immigrant children suffer as a result of the federal government’s decision to cut funding for legal services. Former officials with the department of Health and Human Services (HHS) attested that the move would leave children even more vulnerable to trafficking – the opposite of the intended effect of the TVPRA.
Legal service providers filed this lawsuit to challenge a partial contract termination order sent by the Trump administration on March 21 that terminated the contracts that provided funding for counsel for unaccompanied children and ordered plaintiffs to “immediately stop work” on their ongoing funded representations.
Organizational plaintiffs in the suit include Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, Estrella del Paso, Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto (CLSEPA), Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project, Galveston-Houston Immigrant Representation Project, Immigrant Defenders Law Center, National Immigrant Justice Center, Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network, Social Justice Collaborative, and Vermont Asylum Assistance Project. Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, Immigrant Defenders Law Center, and Justice Action Center are co-counsel.
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