End of federal funds leave migrant children to navigate system alone, warns immigrant rights group
By WLRN News Staff
August 1, 2026 at 6:00 AM EDT
More than 20,000 unaccompanied immigrant children across the U.S., including hundreds in South Florida, could be forced to navigate the complex U.S. immigration court system without an attorney or legal advisor after federal funding ended Friday, warns the Miami-based Americans for Immigrant Justice.
“Every child deserves the opportunity to have their story heard and their rights protected under our legal system,” said AIJ Executive Sui Chung in a statement. “To deny legal counsel to the most vulnerable among us — children who have already fled trauma — is a fundamental breakdown of the fairness our Constitution promises.
"We must not allow the system to fail these children," she said.
Friday marked the last day of a contract under which the federal government paid for legal services for children who enter the U.S. without a parent or guardian. The government contracts out those services to a network of nearly 100 legal groups across the country that provide services to roughly 20,000 children.
READ MORE: Rep. Wasserman Schultz calls detention center conditions 'humane,' immigrant arrests 'outrageous'
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which is responsible for caring for unaccompanied migrant children while they are in government care and which administers the contract, did not respond to a request from the Associated Press for comment Friday.
Immigrant advocates say HHS continues to withhold more than $65 million in funding already approved by Congress for migrant children. They say that the Trump administration has been withholding payments as it demands detailed information from the providers about their clients that the providers say they have never been asked for before and that they ethically cannot provide.
AIJ officials says its Children’s Legal Program staff has been working without funding since January. AIJ is the only legal services provider for unaccompanied immigrant children within the jurisdiction of Miami immigration courts.
As part of the expiring federal contract, the legal groups, like AIJ, can enter government-funded shelters and give presentations to children about their legal rights, and directly represent the children as they go through immigration court proceedings.
“These children have already survived journeys no child should face. To now ask them to stand before a judge without an attorney, without a single person who can explain the process, is a failure we cannot accept,” said Alexandra Manrique Alfonso, Director of AIJ's Children’s Legal Program. “Legal representation should not be a luxury — it is often the difference between safety and harm.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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Immigration Detention Hotline: AI Justice operates a hotline for individuals in immigration detention at 786-454-8554 (Monday–Thursday, 9:00 a.m.–11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.–4:00 p.m. ET).
Family Defense Program: Families seeking immigration assistance can call 305-573-1106, ext. 8008 (Tuesday & Thursday, 9:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m. ET) or email: familydefense@aijustice.org
“Every child deserves the opportunity to have their story heard and their rights protected under our legal system,” said AIJ Executive Sui Chung in a statement. “To deny legal counsel to the most vulnerable among us — children who have already fled trauma — is a fundamental breakdown of the fairness our Constitution promises.
"We must not allow the system to fail these children," she said.
Friday marked the last day of a contract under which the federal government paid for legal services for children who enter the U.S. without a parent or guardian. The government contracts out those services to a network of nearly 100 legal groups across the country that provide services to roughly 20,000 children.
READ MORE: Rep. Wasserman Schultz calls detention center conditions 'humane,' immigrant arrests 'outrageous'
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which is responsible for caring for unaccompanied migrant children while they are in government care and which administers the contract, did not respond to a request from the Associated Press for comment Friday.
Immigrant advocates say HHS continues to withhold more than $65 million in funding already approved by Congress for migrant children. They say that the Trump administration has been withholding payments as it demands detailed information from the providers about their clients that the providers say they have never been asked for before and that they ethically cannot provide.
AIJ officials says its Children’s Legal Program staff has been working without funding since January. AIJ is the only legal services provider for unaccompanied immigrant children within the jurisdiction of Miami immigration courts.
As part of the expiring federal contract, the legal groups, like AIJ, can enter government-funded shelters and give presentations to children about their legal rights, and directly represent the children as they go through immigration court proceedings.
“These children have already survived journeys no child should face. To now ask them to stand before a judge without an attorney, without a single person who can explain the process, is a failure we cannot accept,” said Alexandra Manrique Alfonso, Director of AIJ's Children’s Legal Program. “Legal representation should not be a luxury — it is often the difference between safety and harm.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
________
Immigration Detention Hotline: AI Justice operates a hotline for individuals in immigration detention at 786-454-8554 (Monday–Thursday, 9:00 a.m.–11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.–4:00 p.m. ET).
Family Defense Program: Families seeking immigration assistance can call 305-573-1106, ext. 8008 (Tuesday & Thursday, 9:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m. ET) or email: familydefense@aijustice.org