I’ve been wondering how long it would take for Trump’s mass deportation agenda to directly affect our operations at the WVU Immigration Law Clinic, and now I know the answer: 29 days.
On Tuesday, the Trump Administration issued a stop work order on a contract that supports legal representation for unaccompanied minors. Through the contract, Acacia Center for Justice supports Immigrant Justice Corps legal fellows, who exclusively represent unaccompanied minors before the immigration courts and agencies.
WVU Immigration Law Clinic hosts one such fellow. Because of the order, our fellow had to cancel a new client intake meeting scheduled for Wednesday and pause work on behalf of other child clients.
The contract with Acacia was issued by Interior’s Department of Health and Human Services, which since 2002 legislation has had responsibility to care for children who arrive at our border without a parent or guardian.
Interior provided no reason for the stop work order. According to news sources, the letter merely advised Acacia that “[t]he stop work order is being implemented due to causes outside of your control and should not be misconstrued as an indication of poor performance by your firm.”
About Face
And now – just as I was preparing to post this update – the fellows received word that the stop work order was rescinded. No details or explanation have been offered yet, nor updates on whether this is temporary or permanent.
Some damage may already be done. With so much uncertainty swirling, young professionals in the Immigrant Justice Corps program (there are over 130 IJC fellows nationwide) may choose to leave the program early, and host organizations are already working on contingency plans.
Lawyers Matter, Especially for Kids
Counsel for kids has long been a bipartisan effort, appropriately prioritizing child welfare. Whatever one may think about immigration policy, no child should be required to appear in court alone and defend themselves against arguments of a trained government attorney. Immigrant Justice Corps fellows’ job is to make sure that doesn’t happen.
According to IJC, their fellows succeed in helping their clients obtain immigration relief in more than 90 percent of cases. By comparison, 67 percent of people in immigration court last year did not have an attorney, but only 21 percent of people ordered removed were unrepresented.
Having a lawyer makes a big difference, even for adults. Imagine how a kid would feel.
Help Protect the Right to Counsel in Immigration Court
The WVU Immigration Law Clinic is working to help immigrants in West Virginia exercise their constitutional right to be represented by counsel (at no cost to the government) in immigration court. If you’d like to support our efforts, you can make a contribution at this link. In the comments section at the bottom of the link, be sure to direct your contribution to the Immigration Law Clinic.
The work that you and the clinic do is so important. I'm closely following this issue and look forward to hearing updates here as we receive more information.