A federal judge in Northern California ordered the Trump administration to temporarily restore legal funds for immigrant children in the Immigration Court.
A nonprofit representing unaccompanied minors challenged the administration of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California after the government notified them on March 21 that their contract would end. The program will provide approximately 26,000 children to legal representatives.
The government has determined that it is legally required to provide representation to vulnerable children under the Anti-Trafficking Act of 2008.
The government argued that funding was discretionary and a matter of contract disputes.
San Francisco US District Judge Alaselli Martinez Olguin confirmed the nonprofit Tuesday night, including the Los Angeles-based Immigration Defence Corps law center, a restraining order.
“Terminating funds for direct legal representatives of unaccompanied children without a plan to ensure continuity of representatives could violate the express direction of Congress at the TVRPA,” she noted the Anti-Trafficking Act.
The Human Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 provides special protection for children vulnerable to exploitation. The government requires “guarantees to the fullest extent possible.”
While the relief is temporary, Martinez Holguin said “continued funding of legal representation for unaccompanied children promotes efficiency and equity within the immigration system.”
Jonathan Ross, who was representing the government, said that despite the cuts, the group was free to continue providing pro bono services, and that other parts of the contract remained, including the right-right program.
The immigration defender law center, like other groups, had begun to fire dozens of staff. Their attorneys said that closing the program could quickly injure the child during scheduled asylum appointments and court hearings.
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