In response to more federal cuts by the Trump administration, another lawsuit has been filed by nearly a dozen groups who say the cuts could impact thousands of children in immigration court.
In response to more federal cuts proposed by the Trump administration, 11 groups that provided legal services to unaccompanied children in immigration court filed a lawsuit Wednesday - asking a federal judge to intervene and place on a hold on the cuts that the groups allege could adversely impact on thousands of unaccompanied children in need of legal representation.
According to the lawsuit filed in federal court in California, the groups argue that for years Congress has approved and allocated to the federal government millions of dollars to help pay for legal services for unaccompanied children in immigration court.
That was until last week, when they say the pipeline for those dollars was abruptly cut off.
“On March 21, 2025, without warning, Defendant the U.S. Department of the Interior (“DOI”) sent a notice terminating contract line items...for attorneys to represent unaccompanied children," the lawsuit states.
Among the people they allege will be impacted by the cuts - "a 16-year-old girl and her one-year-old son," according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges that “Beginning at the age of six years old, the girl was sex trafficked by her family in Mexico."
"After giving birth to her son, she fled to the U.S. to save him from the same fate," the lawsuit states.
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"No justification provided. It was abruptly pulling the plug on these core services," said Azadeh Erfani the policy director for the National Immigrant Justice Center - one of the 11 groups suing the Department of the Interior and the Department of Health and Human Services.
Since taking office, President Trump’s administration has taken several steps to reduce federal spending and increase immigration enforcement.
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"We're not surprised, only insofar as, cruelty has been a trademark of this administration when it comes to, targeting immigrant communities. And so, in this particular case, they're coming after the lawyers in order to get to the children," Erfani said.
Erfani told NBC 5 Investigates she has concerns about the pressure this could potentially place on immigration judges and their courts- which currently faces a backlog of more than 3.7 million cases, according to the TRAC website, which monitors immigration courts.
NBC 5 Investigates asked if Erfani thinks this is a means to end, with the end being that this may expedite the removal process for these unaccompanied children.
“Absolutely, absolutely. The administration is trying to short circuit essentially the entire process that immigrants are entitled to, including children in this case. There's due process protections for everybody who is in court proceedings. You cannot have due process if you're sending kids alone, in immigration court to face an ICE prosecutor," she said.
In a statement to NBC 5 Investigates, a Department of Interior spokesperson wrote: "The Department of the Interior reaffirms its unwavering commitment to conserving and managing the nation's natural and cultural resources, upholding tribal trust responsibilities, and overseeing public lands and waters for the benefit of all Americans, while prioritizing fiscal responsibility for the American people, but Department policy is to not comment on litigation."
NBC 5 Investigates did not get a response back from Health and Human Services.
The groups are asking that a federal judge intervenes here – they want a temporary restraining order and an injunction to prevent these cuts from going in place. Right now, they say they face the choice of representing these children without funding or not representing them at all.
