Catholic Charities calls for resumption of legal aid for migrant children

Catholic Charities of Baltimore, the state’s largest private provider of human services, Friday called on the Trump administration to reinstate funding for legal representation to unaccompanied migrant children.

“The decision to remove this protection and critical support for children is devastating,” said Bill McCarthy, executive director of Catholic Charities. “Legal counsel and guidance are crucial for navigating our immigration system, especially for children who are the most vulnerable.”

On Tuesday, the administration issued an order immediately halting legal assistance for unaccompanied migrant children. This decision affects more than 26,000 young people under the age of 18 who had been receiving support from government-funded attorneys, including the more than 200 cases for approximately 150 unaccompanied children currently served by Catholic Charities’ Immigration Legal Services, according to the agency.

The Interior Department gave no explanation for the stop-work order, telling the Acacia Center for Justice and its subcontractors to immediately stop work on a $200 million contract to provide representation for children entering the country alone. The department told the group only that it was done for “causes outside of your control” and should not be interpreted as a judgment of poor performance. The halt remains in effect until further notice.

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In a statement Wednesday, the department said it has agreements to support other agencies but does not fund or operate the program and couldn’t answer questions about it. The Department of Health and Human Services Department, which oversees unaccompanied migrant children, did not respond to requests for comment.

Catholic Charities said that the stop-work order for these services endangers vulnerable children at risk of trafficking and abuse. Many of these young people will now have to confront the complicated immigration system without legal resources.

Helping clients as they seek to obtain, extend or retain lawful immigration status or citizenship has long been a key service provided by Catholic Charities, McCarthy said. “This service is now in danger,” he added. “We must reconsider this action.”

Immigration Legal Services at Esperanza Center was founded in 1994 to provide low-cost legal counseling and representation in humanitarian and family-based immigration matters. As one of the largest nonprofit immigration legal services providers in the state, ILS serves individuals from more than 150 different countries who reside in Maryland or have immigration cases in Maryland.

“We are profoundly concerned about our children who will now be in jeopardy of having to fend for themselves in an extremely complex legal process,” said Matthew Dolamore, director of Esperanza Center. “This order represents the rejection of the call to action to love our neighbors and welcome strangers. We can and must do better for our kids.”

In a separate matter, a federal judge on Thursday refused to immediately block the Trump administration’s abrupt halt to funding of the nation’s largest private refugee resettlement program in a setback to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Judge Trevor McFadden denied the bishops’ request for a temporary restraining order that would have restored the funding but called his ruling “very tentative.”

“A temporary restraining order is an extraordinary remedy that should be granted sparingly,” he said.

McFadden scheduled another hearing for next Friday on the bishops’ related request for a preliminary injunction that also would block the administration’s pause in program funding. He also ordered the two sides to have a mediation session with a federal magistrate judge next week.

“I want to see further briefing from the parties,” McFadden said.

The bishops are asking him to prohibit the U.S. State Department from enforcing a Jan. 24 suspension of millions of dollars in aid, saying it has affected nearly 7,000 newly arrived refugees.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.