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.
Presently, about 26,000 unaccompanied children receive federal-funded legal representation in the United States. The groups said that the vast majority of the children who arrived in the country without a legal guardian do not speak English and cannot afford to hire a lawyer.
The Epoch Times reached out to the plaintiffs’ lawyers and HHS for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
“As the TVPRA reflects, it is all but impossible for these children—one of the world’s most vulnerable groups—to receive a fair legal process in complex and adversarial immigration proceedings without legal representation,” they stated.
The lawmakers added that terminating legal aid for the children means that “all too many two- and three-year-old children who do not comprehend what those proceedings even are will nonetheless face them alone.”
The contract termination follows President Donald Trump’s memorandum in February that called for a review of all funding to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that receive federal funding to ensure they align with national interests and the administration’s policy.
