By Victoria Albert

The Trump administration must temporarily keep funding lawyers for unaccompanied migrant children, a federal judge in California said Tuesday.

In March, the Trump administration terminated parts of a contract that provides congressionally appropriated funds to legal-service providers to help children navigate the immigration court system. Several of the nonprofits sued, saying 26,000 children would be at risk of losing their representation if the government doesn't pay.

The preliminary injunction from Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin allows the funding for legal representation for minor children to continue while the case proceeds.

The nonprofits say they provide a crucial service to children in immigration court, who lack the legal knowledge to properly defend themselves. They say their efforts also prevent the disorder of immigration court judges trying to steer children, or even infants, through legal proceedings.

The government said it ended parts of its contract with the Acacia Center for Justice, which subcontracts the work to the nonprofits, to better prioritize its resources and focus on pro-bono providers. It preserved funding for "know your rights" presentations and legal screening consultations, which it is required by law to provide.

In the lawsuit, the nonprofits alleged the government is violating a 2008 law requiring it to ensure "to the greatest extent practicable" that unaccompanied migrant children are represented. It said the administration is also running afoul of a 2024 Office of Refugee Resettlement rule requiring it to pay for attorneys when pro bono providers weren't available.

The government said it has discretion to end such programs and is required by law to give priority to pro-bono work. The administration said it would be possible to fill the representation gap with lawyers working for free, which the nonprofit groups vehemently dispute.

In a Tuesday night order, Martinez-Olguin said the government hadn't done enough to ensure it was still meeting its legal obligations.

The law requires, she said, "something more than zero expenditure where appropriated funds are available." She said the government didn't show any effort to ensure other representation for the children.

Write to Victoria Albert at victoria.albert@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 29, 2025 22:58 ET (02:58 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.