Federal Court Orders Trump Administration to Stop Starving Legal Services for Unaccompanied Immigrant Children
- ImmDef Communications
- 2 minutes ago
- 4 min read
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 6, 2026
Federal Court Orders Trump Administration to Stop Starving Legal Services for Unaccompanied Immigrant Children
Oakland, CA.--Today, a federal court ordered the Trump administration to release withheld funding for legal services for unaccompanied immigrant children by 12 p.m. PT on Friday, August 7, after nearly nine months of the administration failing to comply with the court’s preliminary injunction order.
The order requires the government to pay nonprofit organizations for federally mandated legal services delivered to unaccompanied immigrant children since December 2025. However, it cannot erase the harm caused by the administration’s prolonged noncompliance, nor does it secure the future of children’s representation. On July 31, the federal contract (with a nationwide network of nearly 100 experienced legal service providers) expired without renewal, leaving no plan for how thousands of children will continue receiving the specialized, independent legal help on which they rely. The court in its order today recognized this uncertainty, ordering the government to report by August 13 about how they are ensuring funding for legal services continues.
"We still don't know how many children paid the price for the administration's lawlessness. While the government withheld funding in defiance of its obligations, children were left to face deportation proceedings alone, and some potentially returned to the very abuse, persecution, and danger they fled,” said Alvaro M. Huerta, Director of Litigation and Advocacy at the Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef). “We will continue our zealous advocacy for every child and hold this administration accountable for every attempt to evade its obligation to provide legal representation. Children's rights are not optional, and neither is the government's responsibility to protect children from abuse, trafficking, and unlawful return to harm."
In March 2025, the Trump administration moved to terminate funding for legal representation services for unaccompanied immigrant children. The court first blocked the government from withdrawing these funds on April 1, 2025, and on April 29, 2025, issued a preliminary injunction keeping that protection in place while the case proceeded. Despite those orders, the administration has failed to pay providers for legal representation services since December 2025.
“Nonprofits have spent months carrying the financial burden of the government's refusal to release congressionally appropriated funds in violation of the federal court's injunction order, but the consequences reach far beyond our organizations,” said Adina Appelbaum, Program Director at Amica Center for Immigrant Rights. “Every withheld payment threatens a child's access to legal representation, due process, and safety. When funding is weaponized, immigrant children are the ones left standing alone in court, facing life-altering decisions without an advocate by their side.”
Today’s ruling follows an August 6 hearing in Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, after Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, Immigrant Defenders Law Center, and Justice Action Center, and the law firm Gibson Dunn, asked the court to enforce its April 29, 2025 preliminary injunction by requiring the administration to pay providers for months of legal representation services delivered under the federal contract before it expired on July 31.
Providers have warned that months of nonpayment have forced organizations to search for emergency resources, make staffing changes, and, in some cases, limit services. When that infrastructure is destabilized, children are the ones put at risk of being left to navigate immigration proceedings alone.
“The fastest way to deport more children is to make sure fewer children have lawyers,” said Laura Flores-Perilla, Staff Attorney at Justice Action Center. “That is what is at stake here. Children need independent legal help to understand their rights, make their case, and seek protection. Today’s order requires the government to pay for services already provided, but thousands of children still face an uncertain future.”
The court’s action also comes as the Trump administration escalates efforts to deport more unaccompanied children while limiting the legal support available to them. In recent months, the administration has pressed legal service providers for children’s sensitive case records, explored shifting representation to a Texas criminal-defense commission, and awarded a $150 million contract to the Houston-based Burke Law Group, which has little prior experience in immigration law or working with child clients. Immigration authorities have also used information submitted by relatives seeking to bring children home to locate and arrest potential caregivers, leaving family members afraid to come forward and children in government custody for longer.
Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, Immigrant Defenders Law Center, and Justice Action Center will continue fighting to ensure the administration follows the court’s orders and that unaccompanied children receive the independent legal representation Congress intended them to have.
A virtual press briefing will be held on Friday, August 7 at 9 am PT / 12 pm PT via Zoom. To RSVP please contact press@justiceactioncenter.org.
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The Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef) is a next-generation social justice law firm that defends immigrant communities against injustices in the immigration system. Our programs are a first step towards realizing the long-term goal of providing universal representation to all immigrants facing deportation. ImmDef is now the largest non‐profit, pro bono provider of deportation defense in California, with offices in Los Angeles, Riverside, Santa Ana, and San Diego.