Arizona nonprofit relieved as legal aid for unaccompanied children resumes

YUMA, AZ (AZFamily) — The Trump administration’s decision to halt legal aid for unaccompanied migrant children has been reversed.

The original move had left an estimated 26,000 children facing immigration court without a lawyer.

Immigration advocates were calling the action unprecedented.

Unaccompanied minors have historically been protected and advocates say the initial executive order would have left thousands of kids vulnerable, forcing children as young as toddlers to navigate court on their own.

The stop-work order was issued on Tuesday, suspending all legal aid to detained children who crossed the border without their parents.

The Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project in Phoenix was one of the nonprofits impacted.

They help over one thousand children in Arizona who are detained and facing immigration court.

They provide translation and legal services for free.

The Acacia Center for Justice, a nonprofit that receives federal funding to provide legal services for unaccompanied minors nationwide, announced Friday that the stop-work order had been rescinded.

They are relieved that services can resume.

They also thanked the public for sending letters to Congress, urging the restoration of these critical services.

Acacia subcontracts legal services to 85 agencies, including the Florence Project.

According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection data, 23,000 unaccompanied minors have crossed the southern border since October, with 4,000 of them crossing the Arizona border.

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