Congressmen Goldman, Crow Lead Letter Demanding Trump Administration Reinstate Funding for Unaccompanied Minors' Legal Representation

  

  

Washington, DC – Congressmen Dan Goldman (NY-10) and Congressman Jason Crow (CO-06) led 96 of their colleagues in sending a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum urging them to immediately reinstate legal services for over 26,000 unaccompanied migrant children in the United States. 

 

The Trump administration’s decision effectively denies tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors, many as young as two or three, a fair legal process and leaves them far more vulnerable to abuse, human trafficking, and harm. 

 

"We write with great concern over the Administration’s decision to eliminate key federally-funded legal services for over 26,000 unaccompanied children in the United States. We urge immediate and full reinstatement of these services under the federal contract that provides for this longstanding, bipartisan program. The safety of these children hangs in the balance," the Members wrote. 

 

Eliminating legal services for unaccompanied minors is in clear violation of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA), a bipartisan law mandating the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) provide all unaccompanied children who are or were in HHS custody with proper legal representation to the greatest extent practicable. 

 

“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. The termination of services 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 Members continued. 

 

Attorneys play a critical role in safeguarding unaccompanied minors from trafficking and exploitation–notifying authorities of abuse, addressing safety needs, and investigating and prosecuting perpetrators. Eliminating legal services removes these safeguards and opens up unaccompanied minors to widespread harm. Additionally, attorneys make the immigration system far more efficient by lowering the number of required court hearings and expediting voluntary removal proceedings.  

 

“With the safety of over twenty-six thousand unaccompanied children against traffickers, abusers, and other bad actors on the line, prompt renewal is imperative. Thank you for your consideration of this pressing matter,” the Members concluded. 

 

Congressman Dan Goldman has worked tirelessly to ensure unaccompanied minors receive proper legal representation when navigating the U.S. immigration system. 

 

Last Congress, Goldman helped push the Biden Administration’s Executive Office for Immigration Review’s (EOIR) to release new guidance for children’s immigration proceedings that ensured specialized children’s dockets in each immigration court that were held separate from adult cases and were overseen by dedicated judges.   

 

The Biden Administration’s decision followed the introduction of Goldman’s Children’s Court Act to combat the immigration court backlog and strengthen due process rights for children. 

 

We write with great concern over the Administration’s decision to eliminate key federally-funded

legal services for over 26,000 unaccompanied children in the United States. We urge immediate

and full reinstatement of these services under the federal contract that provides for this

longstanding, bipartisan program. The safety of these children hangs in the balance.

 

Cancellation of vital legal services for unaccompanied children squarely conflicts with the

Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA). That Act, which passed Congress

on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis, mandates that the Department of Health and Human

Services (HHS) ensure counsel to the greatest extent practicable for unaccompanied children

who are or were in HHS custody to “represent them in legal proceedings or matters and protect

them from mistreatment, exploitation, and trafficking.” Stripping away attorneys from children

in local communities will have the opposite effect as Congress directed and intended.

 

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. The termination of services 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 TVPRA also recognizes the critical importance of legal services to safeguarding

unaccompanied children from trafficking and exploitation. Attorneys help identify indicators of

such mistreatment in the first place, notify authorities as appropriate, and address immediate

safety needs. Importantly, attorneys can aid children in serving as victim-witnesses in the

investigation and prosecution of perpetrators. In many cases, unaccompanied children’s attorneys

may be the only adults to whom those children feel safe disclosing information about abuse and

other harm. Hollowing out the legal services contract therefore renders unaccompanied children

significantly more vulnerable to human traffickers and other bad actors.

 

As the Trump Administration moves to place unaccompanied children into removal proceedings

on a substantially expanded scale,1 it is important to emphasize that attorneys are necessary to

ensure that those children understand and meet associated legal requirements. Lacking counsel,

many children will be unable to comprehend Notices to Appear for immigration court or how,

when, and where to make their appearances. By contrast, 98 percent of migrant children with

attorneys show for their hearings.2 Attorneys also ensure that unaccompanied children submit

address update forms to the immigration court system and other immigration agencies upon

changes of residence so that those agencies can properly send notifications to and remain in

communication with these children.

 

Amid a deeply backlogged immigration court system, attorneys cut down on the volume of

needed court hearings and furnish explanations to children that optimize the efficiency of those

hearings and other legal processes. Similarly, when unaccompanied children wish to return to

their countries of origin, attorneys help them expeditiously undergo voluntary departure. Absent

legal representation, such children may instead remain in the United States at length.

 

We are gravely concerned that, despite the above considerations, the Administration recently

terminated in substantial part the legal services contract for unaccompanied children, including

the contract’s provision of legal representation to children otherwise on their own. With the

safety of over 26,000 unaccompanied children against traffickers, abusers, and other bad actors

on the line, prompt and full reinstatement of services under this contract is imperative. Thank

you for your consideration of this pressing matter.