Key Facts

• The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that its lawyers will now provide legal services to migrant children without parents or guardians.
• The government lawyers will represent these children in immigration court throughout their legal process.
• Previously, immigration advocacy groups provided this legal help, but their contracts were cut by the administration.
• Some advocacy groups oppose this change, arguing that the government both prosecutes and now defends these children, which they see as a conflict.
• In 2023, the Acacia Center for Justice managed contracts for legal aid to over 20,000 unaccompanied migrant children.
• The government recently gave a large contract without a competitive process to an anti-human trafficking group to provide these legal services.
• A small Texas law firm withdrew from a major contract due to concerns about its experience in immigration law.
• Democratic lawmakers and advocacy groups have expressed worry that this new approach risks the quality and independence of legal help for vulnerable migrant children.