Attorney Working with Migrant Children Fires Back at Trump's Order to Stop Working: 'We're Not Giving Into Those Fear Tactics'

Tens of thousands of unaccompanied immigrant children in the United States face the prospect of navigating immigration court without legal aid after the Trump administration issued a stop-work order to groups providing such services.

The Acacia Center for Justice, which oversees the main federal contract in this area, said it received an order to "stop all work" related to the contract last Friday, CBS News reported. Its executive director, Shaina Aber, said the organization has almost 100 subcontractors providing service to some 26,000 unaccompanied minors across the country.

Public Counsel, a California-based pro bono law firm, is among the organizations directly impacted by this decision, as it receives over $1 million annually from Acacia to represent more than 200 vulnerable children each year.

"This decision really threw us for a loop, it was really unexpected," said Joel Frost-Tift, Senior Supervising Attorney at Public Counsel, Los Angeles' largest pro bono law firm, in an exclusive interview with The Latin Times. "We're still trying to figure out what our next steps are and we're continuing to provide representation for our clients. We have ethical duties to them regardless of the funding that we've received." The Acacia Center's Aber also mentioned ethical obligations toward clients, but it's unclear how long organizations can go on for without this source of funds.

Aber detailed that the order immediately stops funding for activities like "know your rights" presentations, where unaccompanied minors learn whether they qualify for ways to stay in the country legally, including asylum and visas for abused, neglected or abandoned youth.

Immigrants are, on average, around five or six times more likely to succeed in their case if they're represented by an attorney, Frost-Tift explains. Without it, the children, some too young to speak or read, could now have to attempt to navigate a complex immigration system alone:

"Most of the clients on our team are children or young adults, and it's particularly difficult for them because a lot of them don't have parents here. They might be staying with someone who's like a distant relative or a friend, and they don't necessarily have someone who can advocate on their behalf. So it's extra crucial that they have the legal representation that they are entitled to"

Main Challenges of Navigating Immigration Court Alone

Frost-Tift emphasized that expecting children to handle their own legal proceedings is an overwhelming and unrealistic expectation.

"In a previous job I was providing some "know your rights" services to unrepresented people. And there's just a lot of confusion. One thing that I remember is that certain immigration judges would hold up these super thick books and they would tell people: 'unless you're going to learn all the law that's within this book, I recommend that you go find an attorney"

Filling out immigration applications is a complicated process in itself that would challenge even most native-English speaker, Frost-Tift explains. And migrant children impacted by the measure face the extra layer of difficulty of the language barrier. "They're just not able to represent themselves as effectively, communicate the information that needs to be communicated or diligently fill out the applications that need to be filled out," Frost-Tift added.

As Public Counsel pointed out through a statement on Wednesday, the work that they and similar organization provide is not circumscribed to legal representation, "but also the critical support—education, health care, and safety—necessary for them to rebuild their lives."

"Ending these services strips away due process, denies children a chance to seek refuge from violence, and places them in immediate danger of deportation to the very conditions they fled," added Gina Amato Lough, Directing Attorney of Public Counsel's Immigrants' Rights Project added in another passage of the statement.

There are also potential consequences on immigration courts themselves, as Frost-Tift explains that the situation "gives judges a lot more work because they have to attempt to explain a lot more to the respondents in court about what they need to do.

Questioning the Justification for the Funding Cut

The Department of the Interior cited contracting rules in its decision to halt Acacia's funding, as the LA Times pointed out. "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 letter said.

However, Frost-Tift consider that the justification is far from clear. "I don't think contracting rules is a legitimate argument at all. There was absolutely no warning given. It was done immediately, and we had no time to prepare." While the exact rationale behind the decision remains unclear, Frost-Tift believes the move is part of a broader strategy to deter migrants from seeking legal support:

"I think in general what the administration is trying to do is create a climate of fear, to basically discourage people from doing what they're legally entitled to do—provide representation to immigrants, advise immigrants of their rights. They're trying to scare them into not doing those things. And we're not giving in to those fear tactics."

Public Counsel's Response and Next Steps

For some organizations, the funding cut is an existential threat as it constitutes 100% of their funding. While Public Counsel has other teams and projects with alternative sources of funding, the loss of Acacia's support significantly impacts its ability to serve unaccompanied minors, which is why the organization is working alongside other affected legal service organizations to ensure that immigrant children continue to receive necessary legal support.

"These children have a right to be represented in court, but they're obviously too young to work," said Frost-Tift. "So the reality is that by cutting off this funding that provides representation for unaccompanied minors, it's going to force a lot of unaccompanied minors to be unrepresented in immigration court, which will greatly decrease their chances of succeeding on their claims."

"Our primary goal is supporting these kids, and we have not ruled out a legal challenge," he concluded.