According to a memo obtained by ABC News, the Trump administration has rescinded a stop-work order issued earlier this week, which cut off funding to organizations that provide pro bono representation and other legal assistance to unaccompanied children.
“This letter cancels the Stop Work Order issued February 18,2025,” according to the memo, which was sent to organizations by the Department of Interior.
Earlier this week, the Acacia Center for Justice and its subcontractors were ordered to halt “all activities” related to their work assisting migrant youth facing deportation. The organization serves approximately 26,000 migrant children.
Acacia and Kids in Need of Defense described the stop-worker as “devastating.”
“To expect a child, especially a five- or six-year-old, to figure out their immigration case and how to navigate that system in a language that they don’t speak is virtually impossible,” Wendy Young, president of Kids in Need of Defense, told ABC News.
There are still thousands of unaccompanied minors representing themselves in immigration courts across the country.
According to Department of Justice data, only 56% of unaccompanied minors in immigration courts in 2023 received legal representation.
