Lawyers, who put the facilities out of the facilities in the prisoners who were put in the federal immigration authorities in the federal government, in which the immigration centers are for immigrants, were excluded from the institutions last week after the US Ministry of Justice had stopped several state -financed programs. A program provided children in the deportation process and another divided basic information for children.
The move is part of President Trump's wider move of weakening or bypassing parts of the immigration system that support prisoners.
The Ministry of Justice rejected an inquiry to comment.
The agency of the national non -profit organization announced in an e -mail that was sent last week Acacia Center for Justicewhich coordinates the programs to “stop working immediately” and to sign Trump's latest executive regulation. The order indicates members of his cabinet to pause the financing of contracts and grants that provide immigrants without legal status services. It requires the termination of these contracts, in which it finds waste and fraud.
“The suspension of these long -term programs could leave hundreds of thousands of in need of protection – including children and families – without access to basic legal information and representations,” said Shaina, Executive of the Acacia Center for Justice. The group manages eight state -financed programs, including the four affected people, and work with a network of more than 130 non -profit groups and private lawyers across the country.
The programs provided a help desk in a busy immigration court, basic legal information for individuals and families in custody, which are referred to as “legal orientation”, and lawyers for minors, some of whom can be separated from their families, in the cities that the programs served, including Los Angeles, including Los Angeles and San Diego.
Trump supporters say that they are necessary to accelerate the distance of people who are not authorized in the country.
“The past four years have been an unprecedented illegal immigration disaster,” said Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista). “Donald Trump fought in response to it and was clearly chosen to promise measures just like this. He has my support and deserves a chance to lead and be successful. “
The suspension of the financing eliminates the most opportunities for imprisoned immigrants without a lawyer to receive basic legal information about their rights, according to the supporters of immigrants. And it happens that Trump moved into quick deportations and eliminates guidelines, preventing immigration officers from going in schools, churches and hospitals and fulfilling the paths according to asylum. In contrast to criminal courts, citizens do not have any access to free lawyers, but the right to a lawyer to represent them.
Andrew Nietor, an immigration lawyer in San Diego, represents about 20 children between the ages of 8 and 17 with the group. Nietor said that he would continue to represent it, even though the financing was drawn and pointed out that the program, which is known as a lawyer for children, is set up to alleviate the deficit from dishes.
“When a judge comes to the courtroom and sits at the table an 8-year-old, this will lead to an extended process, more delays, more continuations, because suddenly this judge, who now has an overwhelming case movement, now has to find out how I 8-year-old explain what his rights are, how the procedure is, how to fill an application for asylum and how to receive supporting documentation, ”he said. “The program actually helped efficiency before the dishes.”
Gavin Newsom, Governor of California, will probably sign laws in the coming weeks that would put 25 million US dollars aside for probal lawyers, the immigrants and other groups that they expect from the new administration, including transgender – Residents are targeted.
Proponents say that the financing in California is only part of the problem. State centers are expected to play a central role in Trump's still unfolding immigration strategy. During the last Trump management, these programs were hired -they were finally restored under President Biden -but immigration officers continued to allow the providers to work with prisoners. This time supporters from detention centers were excluded.
“In its policy and legal position, the US government has consistently successfully completed that there is no law financed by the government for advice in the distance procedure.” said Aram Gavoor, deputy dean for academic matters at George Washington University Law School.
Immigration courts are administrative courts that are subject to the President and Attorney General by law and political decision, he said.
The orientation programs work in detention centers, which are often located in remote parts of the country, far from the cities in which the lawyers and legal services for immigration lawyers concentrate. In California, privately operated liability centers in McFarland and Bakersfield in Central Valley are operated near the border in Calexico and in Adelanto in the San Bernardino district.
“The mass deportation begins with masses. And if you take mass detention and take away the proper procedure, access to advice and transparency. You have a black website you have, ”said Michael Lukens, Executive Director of the Amica Center for Immigration Rights, who monitors the legal program for the people captured in Virginia. He said reporters on Monday that legal disputes that cause the break are immediately submitted.
His employees were in the middle of a legal presentation with a group of prisoners, as civil servants with whom they had worked regularly to go.
Lisa Knox, co-director of the California collaboration for immigrant justice, said that she heard similar stories from providers in California, where there are at least nine advice for children.
“There is already no sufficient representation and legal services for people in the detention of immigration,” she said. “And so the loss of this program increases this gap.”
The number of cases in the immigration court has quadrupled to more than 3 million since 2018, while those with lawyers have fallen dramatically. About one of three people with pending cases in front of the court have lawyers. This number was two out of three six years ago, so A Congress report.
Imprisoned ones without lawyers only prevailed 3% of casesAccording to a study in 2018.
Times staff author Andrea Castillo contributed to this report.