Trump Administration Halts Aid for Undocumented Children, Igniting Outrage
One month after Donald Trump's return to the White House, a significant measure has been approved by the government, intersecting two of its priorities: cutting government spending and intensifying its anti-immigrant stance. This time, the victims are undocumented children who arrive at the U.S. border unaccompanied. On Tuesday, organizations dedicated to defending these minors received a stop-work order as the government announced the halt of a federally funded program.
This suspension leaves undocumented children—those who enter the United States without an adult—isolated to navigate their asylum cases within a complex judicial system, often in a language they do not understand. Shaina Aber, executive director of the Acacia Center for Justice, condemned the administration's decision, stating that it undermines due process, disproportionately affects vulnerable children, and could expose them to further harm or exploitation. Her organization provides legal representation to over 26,000 children in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR).
The stop-work order was communicated via an email from the Department of the Interior. The department clarified that the cancellation of the program was due to circumstances beyond the organizations' control and not a reflection of inadequate performance.
In addition to advocacy services and oversight of subcontracted organizations, Acacia trains older children to understand their rights and assists them with interpreters, as many do not speak English. Some, such as indigenous children arriving from Guatemala, may consider Spanish their second language.
Bilal Askaryar, a spokesperson for Acacia, highlighted the dire situation with the example of a two-year-old child who is expected to present their asylum case alone in court. "The Administration expects a two-year-old to go to court alone, answer the judge's questions, and defend himself. These are children that need booster seats just to sit comfortably in a court chair. Yet, the Government wants them to present complicated asylum cases by themselves," Askayar stated.
The government’s halt of the Unaccompanied Children Program means that aid organizations can no longer rely on the $200 million that the administration provided annually. This change marks another adjustment to the government budget, a mission pursued by Trump and led by Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
It remains unclear if lawyers currently assigned to cases can continue representing their clients, but the absence of public funding will pose significant challenges. Lawyers now face the ethical dilemma of either abandoning their clients or continuing representation pro bono, according to Askayar.
Asylum applications, which can take years to process, place additional stress on these children. Upon crossing into the U.S. solo, they are greeted by agents who transfer them to the ORR, an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). These minors typically remain under U.S. custody until they can be placed with a sponsor, usually a family member residing in the country.
Critics have condemned these actions as a direct attack on immigrant children. Roxana Avila-Cimpeanu, deputy director of the Florence Project, emphasized that these vital services are necessary not only for fairness but to protect minors from trafficking and exploitation and to improve the efficiency of immigration courts: "Children should not be required to stand alone in court against trained government attorneys."
While historically most unaccompanied minors came from Mexico, recent years have seen a significant rise in arrivals from Guatemala, which now accounts for 32% of the total. Honduras and Mexico each represent 20% of the unaccompanied minors.
In response to Trump's directive, Latino advocacy organization Voto Latino condemned the decision to strip legal assistance from children, including those who may not have the ability to articulate their defense. The organization characterized this move as a blatant violation of basic human rights, arguing that the administration's actions further weaken due process for immigrants, thereby putting a vulnerable population at greater risk.
Additionally, the Trump administration has taken steps to make it more difficult for relatives to step forward as sponsors for unaccompanied minors, a move seen as a strategy to expel an estimated 13 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. Under the new directive, relatives who agree to sponsor an unaccompanied minor must now undergo fingerprinting, ostensibly to enhance security and combat fraud and trafficking.
Child advocates fear that this requirement will dissuade potential sponsors from coming forward, leading to more children remaining in federal custody, a rise in detention costs, and increased family separations. An ICE spokesperson confirmed that its agents had, and will continue to have, access to databases containing the personal information of minors who are apprehended.
During Trump's earlier term, similar policies increased arrests of undocumented adults seeking to sponsor children. According to the Congressional Research Service, following those policies, ICE arrested 170 potential sponsors between July and November of 2018, with many having no prior criminal records.
The recent developments, coupled with a rollback of support for vulnerable children, have ignited significant concern among child advocates and organizations committed to aiding immigrant children. The call for Congress to intervene and restore essential rights for these minors is becoming more urgent.
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