A federal judge ruled late on Tuesday that the Trump administration must temporarily restore funds to a nonprofit group that provides legal and other services for tens of thousands of unaccompanied migrant children.
Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín’s order runs through April 16 and requires the Trump administration to resume funding for the Acacia Center for Justice and other nonprofit groups.
Martínez-Olguín determined that nonprofit groups have legal standing to sue the government to preserve funding. Plaintiffs are arguing that they’re entitled to funds through the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008.
Martínez-Olguín’s order prevents the termination of funding for legal representation for these children, allowing the Acacia Center for Justice to continue its services while legal proceedings continue.
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On March 21, the Trump administration announced it would stop funding the Unaccompanied Children Program. The program provides services and legal representation for thousands of children who are in the U.S. without a parent or legal guardian.
“Acacia’s Unaccompanied Children Program provides legal representation to more than 26,000 children in and released from Office of Refugee Resettlement custody,” Shaina Aber, executive director of the Acacia Center for Justice, said. “These independent children’s rights attorneys protect children from trafficking, abuse, and exploitation, helping vulnerable kids engage in a confusing and often tumultuous legal process and pursue their legal interests and options in a rapidly evolving immigration system.”
Groups like the Acacia Center argued that the loss of federal funds would force them to lay off attorneys providing legal services to unaccompanied migrant children. A judge agreed that the termination of funding would be detrimental to these organizations, stating that “terminating funding for direct legal representation for unaccompanied children, without any plan to ensure continuity in representation, potentially violates Congress’s express directive.”
“The Court additionally finds that the continued funding of legal representation for unaccompanied children promotes efficiency and fairness within the immigration system,” wrote Martínez-Olguín, who was appointed to the district court in 2023 by President Joe Biden.
