Washington (AP) – Trump administration stopped supporting legal representation in the immigration court on Tuesday for children who enter the United States alone, a setback for those who fight against expulsion that cannot allow yourself a lawyer.
The Acacia Center for Justice said that it serves 26,000 migrant children under its federal contract. The Interior Department has not given any explanation to the order of stop work, telling the group only that “causes outside your control” and should not be interpreted as a poor performance judgment. The judgment remains in force until further notice.
The Department of the Interior and the Department of Health and Social Services, which supervises unaccompanied migrant children, has not responded to requests for comments on Tuesday evening.
Acacia says that it directs the legal aid program thanks to a network of 85 organizations nationwide which represent children under the age of 18.
The judgment comes shortly after the Ministry of Justice briefly stopped supporting other contacts in order to provide legal information and advice to persons facing expulsion. He restored funding after being prosecuted by advocacy groups.
People who fight against expulsion can hire lawyers at their expense, but the government does not provide them. Groups that depend on federal support to represent children have declared that the most vulnerable would suffer from the decision to end the work on the $ 200 million contract.
“Counting that a child will represent himself in the absurd and deeply unfair immigration court,” said Christine Lin, director of training and technical assistance at the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies.
Originally published:
California Daily Newspapers
