DOJ Orders the Suspension of Federally Funded Immigration Legal Services

Suspended Federal Immigration Services

The DOJ has ordered the suspension of federally funded legal services who provide support to noncitizens in immigration courts. This includes the following DOJ programs: the Legal Orientation Program, the Family Group Legal Orientation Program, the Immigration Court Help Desk, and the Counsel for Children Initiative.

These programs were resources for both detained and non-detained immigrants that provided information on immigration processes and proceedings, referrals for low-cost representation, and assistance with legal paperwork. The Counsel for Children Initiative worked to provide legal representation to unaccompanied children undergoing legal proceedings. Without assistance, noncitizens, including children, would have to argue their case and file documents alone and in a language in which they may not be fluent.

This decision puts vulnerable noncitizens at risk by making an already complicated and rapidly changing immigration process even more inaccessible. Taking away federal immigrant legal services only serves to hinder the right to due process, affecting the ability of noncitizens to effectively plead cases that would reaffirm or grant them lawful status.

While the Lemkin Institute continues to report on important immigration policy changes, we cannot offer individualized legal advice.

If you think you may be affected by policy changes, please contact an immigration lawyer.