\t\t\t\t107<\/p>\n
(OSV News) \u2014 The Diocese of El Paso has shut down its long-running legal aid ministry to unaccompanied child migrants, as the Trump administration withholds almost $1 million in funding for work already performed.<\/p>\n
Estrella del Paso announced July 31 that it had closed its Unaccompanied Children\u2019s Program and laid off 13 employees, after its federal contract was not extended.<\/p>\n
That non-renewal comes as the organization is still owed for work it has completed for the federal government, with no payments received since December 2025.<\/p>\n
Heartbreaking update<\/p>\n
In an Aug. 1 video statement posted to the organization\u2019s Instagram account, executive director Melissa Lopez \u2014 who in July had warned Estrella\u2019s reserves had been \u201ccompletely depleted\u201d by the federal government\u2019s non-payment \u2014 described the news as a \u201cheartbreaking update.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout payment from the federal government, we simply can\u2019t operate this program,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Lopez stressed that \u201cunaccompanied children have a right to legal services and representation under U.S. law,\u201d noting that \u201cthe federal government agreed to this contract and is now refusing to pay what they owe.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to its press release, the nonprofit is currently representing 243 unaccompanied migrant children.<\/p>\n
Outlook for the children<\/p>\n
\u201cOur attorneys have an ethical and legal obligation to continue representing the children, despite the government withholding payment for these services,\u201d said Estrella del Paso in its press release.<\/p>\n
But Lopez told local media days ahead of the announcement that she and her team had \u201cno understanding of what\u2019s going to happen to those children come next week.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know if they\u2019re going to have legal representation,\u201d she said. \u201cThe government as of yet has not identified who will take over this representation.\u201d<\/p>\n
In its press release, Estrella del Paso said that many of the children it aids \u201care survivors of trafficking, violence, and persecution,\u201d and that they \u201chave a legal right to legal services and legal representation under U.S. law.\u201d<\/p>\n
Without access to attorneys, said the organization, \u201cchildren win the right to stay less than 1% of the time.\u201d<\/p>\n
In its July 31 announcement, Estrella del Paso said the Trump administration at present owes \u201cnearly $1 million for services that have already been provided,\u201d an amount set to \u201cincrease after invoices are submitted for work completed during the month of July.\u201d<\/p>\n
The William Wilberforce Trafficking Victim Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 reaffirmed that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has oversight of unaccompanied migrant children.<\/p>\n
Under the act (which has further specifications for children from contiguous nations), the agency is required to provide unaccompanied children in HHS care with legal counsel, \u201cto the greatest extent practicable and consistent with\u201d the Immigration and Nationality Act.<\/p>\n
Funding battle<\/p>\n
Estrella del Paso and several counterpart organizations filed suit against HHS in March 2025, after the Trump administration moved to slash funding for such legal representation altogether.<\/p>\n
While the cuts were blocked by a federal judge, the administration stopped payments after December 2025, and began requiring previously unrequested forms of work documentation, including privileged communications, as the basis for any future payment \u2014 a stipulation described by Estrella del Paso as a demand for \u201cconfidential information\u201d to which the federal government \u201chas no legal right.\u201d<\/p>\n
In its suit, Estrella del Paso and its fellow plaintiffs said the administration\u2019s \u201cunlawful cancellation of funding for legal representations\u201d violated both the TVPRA and a 2024 foundational rule implemented by HHS\u2019 Office of Refugee Resettlement.<\/p>\n
The ORR rule requires the federal government to fund legal service providers for unaccompanied children if \u201cavailable appropriations\u201d exist, while ensuring children receive access to legal counsel.<\/p>\n
Estrella del Paso said it is \u201camong nearly 100 legal groups across the country that provide services to roughly 20,000 children under a federal contract,\u201d with program funds appropriated by Congress for nearly two decades.\u201d<\/p>\n
The total now owed to those organizations for legal such counsel is approximately $65 million, said Estrella del Paso in its July 31 press release.<\/p>\n
The court case remains ongoing, with proceedings set to continue in August.<\/p>\n
In comments emailed to OSV News, the Office for Refugee Resettlement said it \u201cremains fully compliant with legal and regulatory obligations and does not act in any way that could dissuade a child from seeking appropriate legal relief.\u201d<\/p>\n
ORR said that \u201cthe current bridge contract with Acacia Center for Justice\u201d \u2014 the nonprofit managing the network of legal service organizations, including Estrella del Paso, that provided counsel to unaccompanied migrant children \u2014 \u201cended on July 31, 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cORR offered Acacia the opportunity to receive a second bridge based on requirements that include they provide the data on who they represent and that they bill us when they submit applications for immigration relief,\u201d said the federal agency in its email. \u201cAcacia refused to accept this bridge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vulnerable children<\/p>\n
Lopez said in the July 31 press release that the issue \u201cis not about paperwork or even non-payment of the bills this administration owes,\u201d but rather \u201cabout more than 20,000 vulnerable immigrant children who deserve to have someone in their corner and the federal government\u2019s choice to leave them to face the immigration system alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know what happens to children that go to court without an attorney. In one word, it is deportation,\u201d said Lopez.<\/p>\n
Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X @GinaJesseReina.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"107 (OSV News) \u2014 The Diocese of El Paso has shut down its long-running legal aid ministry to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":397040,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[138,140,139],"class_list":["post-397039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-el-paso","tag-el-paso","tag-el-paso-headlines","tag-el-paso-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=397039"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397039\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/397040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=397039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=397039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=397039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}