Federally financed legal service providers are ordered by the DOJ to cease offering assistance at immigration hearings

Following Donald Trump's inauguration, the Department of Justice's new leadership instructed federally funded legal aid providers to cease offering legal orientation and other services meant to assist immigrants before immigration courts. The DOJ instructed all such legal services to "stop work immediately" in specific locations on Wednesday, according to a document that ABC News was able to obtain. "This email is to send you a notification to stop work immediately pursuant to the Executive Order on the following task orders," the note said. The Immigration Court Helpdesk, the Family Group Legal Orientation Program, the Counsel for Children Initiative, and the Legal Orientation Program are among the programs mentioned in the document. To assist people with handling legal documentation and navigating immigration court processes, legal service providers are often stationed at immigration courts around the nation. "The suspension of these longstanding programs could leave hundreds of thousands of vulnerable immigrants -- including children and families -- without access to basic legal information and representation," an Acacia Center for Justice representative told ABC News in a statement. The DOJ order was issued the day after ABC News revealed that four senior officials were fired from the Justice Department's Executive Office for Immigration Review, which is the DOJ office in charge of immigration courts. Without a lawyer, migrants are forced to handle the many channels of relief by themselves, completing paperwork in a foreign language and presenting their case before a court, experts and campaigners told ABC News. As previously reported by ABC News, DOJ statistics from 2023 revealed that thousands of unaccompanied juvenile migrants were forced to defend themselves before federal immigration judges, with just 56% of unaccompanied kids in immigration courts having legal representation. Children are given legal counsel in immigration court hearings through The Counsel for Children Initiative, one of the initiatives mentioned in the DOJ letter. The backlog of adult and child immigration court cases has increased to 3.5 million, a record high. Critics argue that the suspension of these programs will exacerbate the already dire situation in immigration courts, where over 3.5 million cases are pending—a record high. Immigrant advocacy groups warn that without access to legal orientation or representation, vulnerable populations, including unaccompanied children and families, will face significant challenges in presenting their cases effectively. The lack of legal assistance not only jeopardizes fair outcomes but also increases the likelihood of procedural errors and wrongful deportations. Experts emphasize that programs like the Legal Orientation Program have historically reduced court backlogs by streamlining case preparation and helping immigrants understand their legal options. By halting these services, the DOJ risks further overwhelming an already strained system, leaving countless immigrants in legal limbo.

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