{"id":400130,"date":"2026-08-07T10:20:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T10:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/400130\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T10:20:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T10:20:10","slug":"judge-orders-trump-administration-to-pay-estrella-del-paso-withheld-funds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/400130\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge orders Trump administration to pay Estrella del Paso withheld funds"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Trump administration by Friday must pay millions of dollars to Estrella del Paso and other legal aid organizations that represent unaccompanied migrant children, a federal judge ordered Thursday.<\/p>\n

U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olgu\u00edn of Oakland, California, ordered the government to release $65 million in payments it has withheld since December by 1 p.m. MDT Friday, including about $765,000 it owes Estrella del Paso. She also ordered the government to file by 2 p.m. MDT a declaration saying it has done so.<\/p>\n

\"\"Melissa Lopez<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are incredibly grateful for the court\u2019s decision to order the payment of our outstanding invoices by noon PST tomorrow. The court saw clearly the government\u2019s attempt to evade the injunction,\u201d Melissa M. Lopez, executive director of Estrella del Paso, said in a statement to El Paso Matters.<\/p>\n

The government had argued that the organizations weren\u2019t properly filing invoices and providing information requested, while the legal aid organizations said the government was withholding payments in an attempt to force them to turn over confidential information about the migrant children they represent.<\/p>\n

Estrella del Paso \u2014 a ministry of the Catholic Diocese of El Paso \u2014 on Friday shut down its legal aid program for unaccompanied children<\/a>, laying off 13 employees and cutting off services to any new minor clients, citing the lack of payments from the government and the expiration of its contract with the government.<\/p>\n

It is unclear whether Estrella or the other organizations that brought the lawsuit against the government will be able to continue providing legal services to the unaccompanied minor children.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because the government\u2019s contract with the\u00a0Acacia Center for Justice, which subcontracts with the other providers, ended Friday.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Children being separated from parents as ICE arrests in El Paso surge<\/a><\/p>\n

The legal aid organizations in court documents said that no bridge contract has been identified and no cases have been transferred to any other legal provider since Friday. About 24,000 cases are pending, according to court records.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, today\u2019s decision does not restore the critical legal services to children that lapsed on July 31,\u201d Lopez said. \u201cWe await the government\u2019s update as to the steps being taken to ensure unaccompanied children receive the services they are legally entitled to receive.<\/p>\n

SEE ALSO: \u2018Me quiero ir con mi pap\u00e1\u2019: Inside El Paso\u2019s fast-tracked immigration court for unaccompanied children<\/a><\/p>\n

In a separate filing Thursday, the Office of Refugee Resettlement in an update to the court said it awarded a $20 million emergency contract this week to the nonprofit Committee for Refugee and Immigrants, which began providing services Wednesday. The contract includes services for representation in immigration court as well as legal orientations and legal consultations through at least December.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Attorneys are being deployed to about 20 immigration courts nationwide, the filing states.<\/p>\n

The government said it\u2019s also close to awarding the contracts for long-term legal representation, but says it can\u2019t publicly disclose information because negotiations are ongoing.<\/p>\n

PODCAST: Inside El Paso\u2019s fast-tracked immigration court, where migrant children often lack attorney<\/a><\/p>\n

The Associated Press on Wednesday<\/a> reported that the Trump administration this week awarded a $150 million contract \u2013 a \u201csingle source\u201d agreement which didn\u2019t require competitive bidding \u2013 to Burke Law Group, a firm headquartered in Houston with ties to the president. The ORR in its update to the court mentions the Burke firm, saying it has a \u201cstrong geographic presence in Texas.\u201d The firm does not appear to have any offices in El Paso.<\/p>\n

One of the law firm\u2019s founders, Marcella Burke, is a former Trump appointee to the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Interior. A former employee and founding partner, Jeffrey Hall, was appointed and confirmed to serve in the EPA late last year, ABC News reported<\/a> this week.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The one-year contract to represent children now held in government-run shelters takes effect Aug. 15. About 1,800 children live in shelters, and about 22,000 live with family members or other sponsors.<\/p>\n

\"\"A mural by artists Kelsey Kilcrease and Nikki Diaz graces the side of Estrella del Paso, formerly Diocesan Migrant and Refugee Services, in Central El Paso. (Corrie Boudreaux\/El Paso Matters)<\/p>\n

Judge Martinez-Olgu\u00edn\u2019s order comes after a hearing earlier Thursday on a motion by the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights and other organizations asking the judge to enforce a preliminary injunction she issued in April requiring the government to continue funding legal representation of unaccompanied migrant children.<\/p>\n

Adina Appelbaum, program director at the Amica Center, in a statement said nonprofits have been carrying the financial burden of the government\u2019s refusal to release the funds.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery withheld payment threatens a child\u2019s access to legal representation, due process, and safety,\u201d Appelbaum said. \u201cWhen funding is weaponized, immigrant children are the ones left standing alone in court, facing life-altering decisions without an advocate by their side.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The government in court documents cited an audit that allegedly found inconsistencies in invoices by the groups, including duplicate documents, missing receipts, charges to the incorrect line items, and the inability to determine whether billed work related to eligible children. It also argues that some of the billing was for children who had already been deported.<\/p>\n

The organizations in turn argued that the government is producing misleading discrepancies, stating in court documents that many children receive services before a notice of appearance is filed and that some children receive legal representation after they leave the United States, court documents show. That work includes legal assistance in processing U visas for victims of crimes or abuse who help government officials investigate or prosecute crimes, according to court records.<\/p>\n

For nearly two decades under different administrations, Congress has appropriated funds for the migrant children under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act that provides them physical and legal protections.<\/p>\n

In her order, the judge states that the government\u2019s argument on the contract for services with Acacia \u201creflects yet another attempt to transform this Administrative Procedures Act case into a contract case. The Court has rejected that attempt multiple times.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also admonished the government, saying it was attempting to use \u201ca contractual dispute as a shield for their failure to abide by the terms of the preliminary injunction\u201d and that \u201cimposing additional conditions for issuance of payment at this stage would be an end run around the injunction that the Court must reject.\u201d<\/p>\n

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