On Friday, March 21, 2025, the Trump administration issued a termination of services notice “for the Government’s convenience” to the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center (MIRC) and legal service providers nationwide for the Unaccompanied Children Program. Effective immediately, the near-total elimination of funding affects legal representation and supportive services for 26,000 vulnerable immigrant children and families across the nation, including more than 800 in Michigan served by MIRC. These children now face losing their legal representation. Minimal funds remain in place for basic legal screenings but even this provision may be in jeopardy beyond March 29. The notice came as the administration began accelerating removal proceedings – using a so-called “rocket docket” – to push children through our nation’s deportation system at an alarming rate, depriving them of due process and protections against trafficking and abuse. In short, the funding loss will take away attorneys when children need them the most.
MIRC condemns this cruel action from the Trump administration, designed to inflict further suffering on children and families already in peril. Legal services are unaccompanied children’s only hope for a fair process in the complex, adversarial U.S. immigration system. Indeed, no other American court system expects young children to represent themselves. Children’s unique vulnerabilities – including their age, developmental stage, and communication and comprehension constraints – make it virtually impossible for them to effectively navigate the immigration system without an attorney at their side. Recent data shows that immigration judges were almost 100 times less likely to grant relief to unaccompanied children without counsel than unaccompanied children with counsel. In most cases, government-funded legal services are the only lifeline preventing children as young as ten months old – the age of our youngest client – from facing court proceedings alone. MIRC attorneys have extensive training and use child-appropriate teaching aids to help our young clients understand the system they are navigating. No child in these circumstances can receive a fair legal process without an attorney.
MIRC attorneys and legal professionals have assisted hundreds of children through this critical program. MIRC helped two young Afghan twins reunite with their family following the fall of the Afghan government. MIRC represented a 12-year-old boy who escaped Central America after his father was imprisoned and tortured for voicing opposition to the government. The child now has a green card, is doing well in school, is a star on his sports team, and wants to join the Marines. One young girl fled West Africa after extreme abuse by her family and threats of a forced marriage to a man three times her age. Her resistance to the marriage led to abuse so severe that it caused a broken back. Since coming to the U.S., she has applied for a special immigrant juvenile visa and asylum, and dreams of becoming a pharmacist, a goal she would not be able to pursue in her country of origin. In addition to direct legal assistance, certain cases have also set precedent. For example, MIRC secured relief for a child who had been forced to work and whipped when he could not do so by his family in Central America. After arguing in the Michigan Court of Appeals, MIRC was able to build precedent that will help other abused children. The contract termination also effectively removes critical technical legal assistance and pro bono mentorship for any attorney willing to take on these complex cases in a child-centered and trauma-informed manner.
Legal services for children are also vital to combatting trafficking and exploitation of unaccompanied children. Child trafficking investigators regularly seek out MIRC staff to provide legal services for children so that investigators can hold traffickers accountable. One of the most powerful defenses a child has against labor or sex trafficking is having a trusted grown up to advocate for them. Legal staff specialize in building rapport with children that helps prevent them from slipping through the cracks and continuing to be exploited by traffickers. For instance, MIRC staff helped children who had experienced labor trafficking and child abuse to leave their traffickers and begin to heal. MIRC staff have also been instrumental in protecting children in federal custody from abuse, and now this vital protection has been undermined.
Unaccompanied children without legal representation simply cannot meaningfully navigate the U.S. immigration system in pursuit of legal protections for which they are eligible. Congress authorized potential relief for child victims of trafficking, sexual exploitation, labor abuse, abandonment, neglect, and other crimes. Such visas not only help children achieve safety and security, but also entail support for law enforcement agencies’ investigation and prosecution of human traffickers and abusers. Simply put: taking away children’s lawyers undermines efforts to stop trafficking and abuse.
Children are children, regardless of their immigration status, and our values and our laws compel us to act in their best interest. Access to supportive legal services helps children overcome barriers to school enrollment, identify low-cost resources within the community, and access protective services. A long-term trusting relationship with an attorney helps children who have suffered trauma begin to confide in adults and share their painful experiences. Eliminating these services directly impacts the prospects for vulnerable children to find safety and thrive, and undercuts our nation’s bedrock values of fairness, compassion, due process, and caring for the unique needs of children.
“MIRC serves as a lifeline for some of the world’s most vulnerable children who have found safety in our local communities,” said Christine Sauvé, Policy and Communications Manager at MIRC. “These children have a human right to seek protection under our laws. The government’s action will result in unnecessary suffering. It is heartbreaking to think that kids who are already integrated in our schools and places of worship will be deported back to harm and possibly death, even though they qualify for legal status here in the United States.”
Despite this devastating news, MIRC will not be dissuaded from its mission. MIRC is committed to continuing to fight for the children who will be impacted by this termination, and all of our client communities. MIRC will continue to serve the 800 young clients we currently represent in Michigan as best we can, for as long as we can, given the limited resources we have available. However, 80% of our current staffing will be affected by this termination notice. We encourage Michiganders to make a contribution so that we are able to continue representation for as many of our vulnerable young clients as possible: michiganimmigrant.org/donate
MIRC is grateful for the recent outpouring of support we received from individuals, and the outreach to Congress that has taken place. Individuals are still encouraged to contact their members of Congress and tell them to restore these life-saving legal services.
Help protect immigrant rights in Michigan by making a contribution today michiganimmigrant.org/donate
