Two senators are mounting a rare bipartisan attack against the Trump administration’s approach to due process for migrants.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, joined Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., in a letter criticizing the end of a federal contract that provides legal representation to 26,000 children who are in the U.S. without a parent or guardian.
The decision to end the contract in late March “puts children directly at risk of trafficking and exploitation, and harms any hope of a fair legal process for thousands of vulnerable children,” they wrote to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Tuesday.
The letter, which was obtained by NPR, marks rare bipartisan condemnation from Capitol Hill of the administration’s immigration policy; so far, Democrats have sent most of the letters raising questions or concerns.
The administration last month ended a contract with the Acacia Center for Justice, which provided legal services to unaccompanied migrant children under the age of 18, including in-court representation and clinics.
“Terminating legal representation for these children means that toddlers will now face a courtroom and judge with no adult to advocate on their behalf,” Ossoff and Murkowski wrote. “Children will be asked to make decisions about their legal rights well beyond their comprehension, with life-altering consequences.”
The Office of Refugee Resettlement is part of HHS and manages programs related to unaccompanied migrant children. HHS did not respond to a request for comment. In court filings, it has argued that federal agencies have discretion on whether to keep funding such legal services.
Dispute over 2008 trafficking law
Ossoff and Murkowski raised concerns that ending the legal funding under the contract would violate the…
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