US migrant children risk losing lawyers as federal immigration aid contract ends

Harlingen,UPDATED: Aug 1, 2026 03:40 IST

Tens of thousands of migrant children who entered the United States without a parent or guardian could lose legal representation in immigration court after a federal contract for legal services expired on Friday. Advocates said the move could raise the risk of deportation for children who are already navigating the immigration system on their own.

Under the contract, the federal government paid a network of nearly 100 legal groups across the country to provide services to about 20,000 children. The Trump administration did not immediately respond to requests for comment on why it was allowing the contract to expire, and the Department of Health and Human Services, which administers the contract and is responsible for the children while they are in government care, also did not respond on Friday.

As part of the arrangement, legal groups were allowed to enter government-funded shelters, explain legal rights to children and represent them in immigration court proceedings. But with the contract ending, providers said it was unclear what would happen from Monday or whether they would still be able to visit clients in the shelters where they live.

"We have no understanding of what's going to happen to those children come next week. We don't know if they're going to have legal representation. The government as of yet has not identified who will take over this representation," Melissa Lopez, executive director of Estrella El Paso, said at a news conference earlier this week. Her organisation currently represents 243 unaccompanied children in western Texas and New Mexico.

Providers said their access to shelters helps them monitor the welfare of a vulnerable group and inform new arrivals about their rights. They warned that without lawyers to guide them through immigration law and court proceedings, children would be far more likely to be deported to the countries they had fled. "The government is trying to eliminate our work in this programme because they know that without attorneys children will be deported," Lopez said.

At an immigration court in Harlingen, dozens of children and teenagers arrived early on Friday for hearings before a judge. In the lobby, some waiting for their cases played with puzzles and action figures or drew in colouring books. One eight-year-old boy entered the courtroom holding an Etch-a-Sketch and sat beside his attorney.

Lauren Fisher Flores, an attorney with the American Bar Association's ProBar project in south-western Texas, told the court that the contract was about to expire. She said that from Monday, lawyers would no longer be able to conduct the legal information sessions they usually hold in shelters, and they would also be unable to provide "Friend of the Court" services for children who sometimes appear without a lawyer. Fisher Flores said the organisation did not know what the government's plan was. "We sincerely hope there will be someone to step in next week," she said. The judge thanked her and said she was sorry to hear the news.

The contract is ending as legal service providers said they have not been paid for more than half a year. The organisations said the Trump administration had been withholding payments while demanding detailed information about clients that providers said they had never previously been asked to share and could not ethically provide.

"They are clearly trying to destroy the program by grinding down the financial health of nonprofits. We've seen layoffs and furloughs, and we will see a lot more of that if these invoices aren't paid," said Michael Lukens, executive director of the Amica Center. Some groups have tried to secure private funding to continue working, while others have started laying off staff and shutting offices. ProBar in south Texas this week laid off 20 per cent of its staff.

Mid-South Immigration Advocates, a non-profit law firm based in Memphis, Tennessee, helps more than 400 unaccompanied minors. Its legal director, Sally Joyner, said the organisation is owed more than USD 500,000 by the federal government for work done for the children. She said the group has already laid off seven employees since 2025, more layoffs are planned, and its offices in Nashville and Memphis will close at the end of September. The firm also expects to shut down entirely soon.

Joyner said the organisation was trying to continue representing the children already in its care even as its budget tightened. She warned that without legal representation, migrant children, from infants to teenagers, could face deportation orders in the coming weeks. "These are kids who have been living in our communities, going to our schools for you know three, four, five years," Joyner said. "Some of them they only know the United States and will have gone to high school, graduate high school just in time for ICE to send them to prison."

Children who arrive in the US alone are usually placed in government care and are covered by legal protections, including the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorisation Act of 2008. Under that law, the government is supposed to facilitate legal representation for children in deportation proceedings. With limited exceptions, children must be placed in the least restrictive setting possible, which usually means release to a sponsor such as a relative in the US while their immigration cases continue.

These children may also apply for special protected status if they cannot return to their home country because of abuse or neglect, and they can seek asylum. For now, advocates say the end of the federal contract has left thousands of children, the legal groups representing them and immigration courts uncertain about what happens next.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends