Latest news with #WilliamWilberforceTraffickingVictimsProtectionReauthorizationActof2008
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judge orders continued funding for migrant children's lawyers
A federal judge in Northern California on Tuesday extended her April injunction ordering the Trump administration to restore legal aid to unaccompanied migrant children in the U.S. It blocks a stop-work order issued to the Acacia Center for Justice by the Department of Interior months prior. The center uses congressional funds to pay subcontractors who provide representation to minors who are accused of entering the country illegally, free of charge. Eleven subcontractor groups for the Acacia Center sued the Trump administration over the abrupt end to publicly funded representation for thousands of migrant children. Acacia Center did not join the lawsuit. U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín, a Biden appointee, agreed with the plaintiffs, argument that ending their work would violate the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (TVPRA), which requires federal entities to prevent and combat the exploitation of unaccompanied children through affirmed legal representation to the 'greatest extent practicable.' Acacia's Unaccompanied Children Program provides legal services to more than 26,000 children who are in or have been released from the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Refugee Resettlement, according to its executive director, Shaina Aber. Aber said the program protects children from human trafficking, helps immigration courts run more smoothly and ensures 'a modicum of due process, so that children navigating the immigration system alone understand their rights and legal obligations.' The White House did not immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment on the order. The move comes as immigration activists have protested the removal of a 2-year-old U.S. citizen, along with their immigrant mother, without 'meaningful process.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
30-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Judge orders continued funding for migrant children's lawyers
A federal judge in Northern California on Tuesday extended her April injunction ordering the Trump administration to restore legal aid to unaccompanied migrant children in the U.S. It blocks a stop-work order issued to the Acacia Center for Justice by the Department of Interior months prior. The center uses congressional funds to pay subcontractors who provide representation to minors who are accused of entering the country illegally, free of charge. Eleven subcontractor groups for the Acacia Center sued the Trump administration over the abrupt end to publicly funded representation for thousands of migrant children. Acacia Center did not join the lawsuit. U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín, a Biden appointee, agreed with the plaintiffs, argument that ending their work would violate the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (TVPRA), which requires federal entities to prevent and combat the exploitation of unaccompanied children through affirmed legal representation to the 'greatest extent practicable.' Acacia's Unaccompanied Children Program provides legal services to more than 26,000 children who are in or have been released from the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Refugee Resettlement, according to its executive director, Shaina Aber. Aber said the program protects children from human trafficking, helps immigration courts run more smoothly and ensures 'a modicum of due process, so that children navigating the immigration system alone understand their rights and legal obligations.' The White House did not immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment on the order. The move comes as immigration activists have protested the removal of a 2-year-old U.S. citizen, along with their immigrant mother, without ' meaningful process.'
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judge orders restoration of legal aid to unaccompanied migrant children
A Northern California judge ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration must temporarily restore legal aid to unaccompanied migrant children in the U.S., effectively blocking a stop-work order issued months prior. In February, the Department of the Interior informed the Acacia Center for Justice that 'the Government hereby directs your firm to stop all work associated with the scope of Contract 140D0422C0009,' which provides legal services for unaccompanied children through a network of contractor organizations. Eleven subcontractor groups sued the Trump administration over the abrupt end to publicly funded representation for thousands of migrants under the age of 18. The plaintiffs argued the move was a violation of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (TVPRA), which requires federal entities to prevent and combat the exploitation of unaccompanied children through affirmed legal representation to the 'greatest extent practicable.' U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín of San Francisco upheld their grounds for objection to the order. Martínez-Olguín, an appointee of former President Biden, wrote that 'Defendants' termination of funding for direct legal representation directly interferes with Plaintiffs' missions, impeding their ability to provide the direct legal representation of unaccompanied children in immigration proceedings that is fundamental to Plaintiffs' core activities.' 'The irreparable harm resulting from Defendants' actions weighs in favor of temporary injunctive relief.' She rejected the Department of Health and Human Services's argument that it would suffer harm if compelled to spend congressionally appropriated funds for unaccompanied children in immigration proceedings. 'Not so. Terminating funding for direct legal representation for unaccompanied children, without any plan to ensure continuity in representation, potentially violates Congress's express directive in the TVRPA and ORR's [Office of Refugee Resettlement] own commitments in the Foundational Rule. Moreover, courts regularly find that '[t]here is generally no public interest in the perpetuation of unlawful agency action.'' More than 100,000 people across the country have submitted letters to Congress, through Action Network, urging the restoration of legal protections for unaccompanied minors. 'Children who arrive in the U.S. unaccompanied by parents or legal guardians have often survived targeted violence, abuse, persecution, or trafficking. Legal providers working with these children provide a critical safeguard in protecting them from further harm or exploitation,' the Acacia Center for Justice said in a statement. 'Particularly at a time when the administration is expediting removal proceedings that force people through our nation's deportation system at an alarming rate, legal services for vulnerable children are more crucial than ever.' The Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Khaleej Times
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Khaleej Times
US judge blocks Trump cuts to legal aid for migrant children
A federal judge ordered US President Donald Trump's administration to temporarily restore funding for programmes that provide legal services for unaccompanied children in immigration proceedings. US District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin in San Francisco late on Tuesday issued a temporary restraining order blocking the administration from cutting off funding that advocates said was crucial to ensure 26,000 children could keep their attorneys. "The maintenance of funding for direct legal representation services furthers the critical public interests of ensuring children have access to legal representation and protection from human trafficking," Martinez-Olguin wrote. The administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Cancellation of the funding occurred amid the Republican President's broader campaign to crack down on immigration and humanitarian programmes he says go beyond the intent of US law. Nonprofit legal service providers who had previously received funding for their work from the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement sued last week after the administration moved to stop the funding. That funding was disbursed through Acacia Centre for Justice, a nonprofit that had been contracted to manage a network of 89 legal services organisations nationally that provide representation to unaccompanied children. The contract was issued on behalf of HHS by the US Department of Interior, which in a March 21 letter ordered Acacia to stop all work. Martinez-Olguin, an appointee of Trump's Democratic predecessor Joe Biden, in her decision noted that Congress has consistently appropriated funds to represent children in immigration proceedings, providing more than $5 billion for that purpose in fiscal year 2024. She said the nonprofits "raise serious questions" as to whether the administration's actions violated its obligations under the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008. That law requires the government to ensure all unaccompanied children receive legal counsel to represent them in legal proceedings and to protect them from mistreatment, exploitation and trafficking.
