About 26,000 illegal immigrant children who entered the United States without a parent or guardian currently receive federally funded legal representation.
A federal judge in California ordered the Trump administration on Tuesday to restore funding for nonprofit organizations providing legal services to illegal immigrant children who entered the United States without a parent or guardian.
U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin issued a temporary restraining order to prevent the administration from terminating the funding, which will remain in effect until April 16.
According to the court ruling, on March 21, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) terminated a contract with the Acacia Center for Justice, through which the plaintiffs—11 nonprofit legal service providers—received funding to offer legal representation to unaccompanied minors.
The judge stated that the groups have shown they are likely to face irreparable harm in the absence of the injunction, as they could lose attorneys to represent the children if the funding is terminated.
HHS and the Office of Refugee Resettlement have said that taxpayers are not obligated to pay the cost of direct legal aid for unaccompanied children, especially when the government is working to cut expenses.
The defendants also questioned the jurisdiction of district courts over a contract termination that was set to expire at the end of March.
In her ruling, Martinez-Olguin said the administration failed to demonstrate that continuing the funding would cause harm and that the plaintiffs raised valid concerns about whether the funding cancellation violated the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPRA).
“The Court additionally finds that the continued funding of legal representation for unaccompanied children promotes efficiency and fairness within the immigration system,” the judge stated.
The nonprofit groups—excluding Acacia—filed the lawsuit on March 26, alleging that the administration’s contract termination violated the TVPRA requiring the government to ensure, at the greatest extent practicable, that all unaccompanied children receive legal counsel to represent them in proceedings and are protected from “mistreatment, exploitation, and trafficking.”
