Press Release  AG Campbell Files Amicus Brief Opposing Trump Administration's Efforts to Roll Back Legal Representation for Unaccompanied Children

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell today joined a coalition of 19 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto, et al. vs. United States Department of Health and Human Services, et al., in support of a challenge to the Trump Administration’s abrupt termination of funding for legal services for unaccompanied immigrant children. In their brief, the attorneys general urge the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to affirm the preliminary injunction issued by the district court, arguing that the Trump Administration’s termination of federal funding for legal representation undermines the efforts of the states in ensuring the safety of unaccompanied children.

The coalition explains that they have a strong interest in protecting the rights of unaccompanied immigrant children, as many of these children have already been or will be released to sponsors within their states. In Massachusetts, 2,370 unaccompanied minors were released to sponsors in 2024. These children are important members of their communities, students in their schools, and eventually, may become parents of their own families. Attorneys often connect their child clients with mental health and medical services. Removing access to counsel will, in turn, limit these vulnerable youths’ access to multiple systems designed to provide care to them. For example, unaccompanied children are a particularly vulnerable population at risk for abuse, trafficking, and exploitation, and legal representation plays an important role in protecting them from mistreatment. Legal representation also ensures that unaccompanied children do not have to navigate the complex United States immigration legal system alone.

In the amicus brief, the coalition urges the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to affirm the preliminary injunction issued by the district court, arguing that:

• Federal law recognizes the importance of providing legal representation to unaccompanied children in immigration proceedings.
• The termination of federal funding for legal representation for unaccompanied children will significantly increase the gaps in funding for legal services and legal service providers resulting in funding and staffing shortfalls.
• Unaccompanied children will experience various long-lasting harms without access to the multidisciplinary support and advocacy that legal representation provides, including:
  • Immigration-related harms resulting from the denial of valid immigration claims
  • Harms resulting from child welfare cases, stemming from a lack of awareness of necessary showings in child welfare proceedings
  • Educational harms resulting from the denial and lack of awareness about available educational services
  • Health care harms resulting from the lack of awareness about mental health and medical services 
     

AG Campbell is joined in filing this amicus brief by the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. 

A copy of the brief can be found here.

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