The Trump administration announced last week the creation of a division of federal attorneys to represent unaccompanied migrant minors in their immigration proceedings, a measure that advocacy organizations deem a serious risk to children, including Cubans who arrived alone or were separated from their families.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published the announcement in the Federal Register signed by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., without specifying when the new unit, called the Division of Legal Representation for Unaccompanied Foreign Minors, will be fully operational.
The department stated in a communiqué that the division will work under the guidance of its general legal counsel to "safely reunify these minors with their families and ensure they have the legal support they need," but did not answer questions about whether it will continue to hire non-governmental organizations for that purpose.
The measure comes after the split with the Acacia Center for Justice, an organization that managed 24,000 cases through a network of legal providers and whose contract the government allowed to expire on July 31.
The main criticism from critics points to a structural conflict of interest: in the new scheme, the minor's attorney, the judge—appointed by the Department of Justice—and the prosecutor seeking deportation are all federal employees.
"Placing legal representation and services for minors within the same agency that holds them under federal immigration custody is an unprecedented step that does not meet basic standards of independence in defense," warned Shaina Aber, executive director of Acacia.
Wendy Young, president of Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), was more straightforward about the practical consequences: "A government attorney, employed by the government, would very likely be directed and encouraged to take the stance of pushing for the minor to accept voluntary departure and leave the United States, rather than presenting a full defense of the facts of their case."
«Denying legal assistance to the most vulnerable among us—minor children who have already fled trauma—is a fundamental break from the equity promised by our Constitution,» summarized Sui Chung, executive director of Americans for Immigrant Justice. «Children deserve our utmost protection.»
A decision by the Immigration Appeals Court in 2026 complicated the situation for migrants who entered the United States without being legally admitted, including those classified as unaccompanied minors. The ruling established that having previously received that classification or having an approved special immigrant juvenile (SIJ) petition does not, by itself, grant the immigration judge the authority to review detention conditions and grant bail.
The minors with I-220A forms who arrived alone have different legal pathways before turning 21, but their cases have also become significantly more complicated in recent months.
Meanwhile, many children are already appearing in court without any lawyer.
According to data from the Vera Institute of Justice, 63% of migrant minors did not have legal representation during 2025.
At the end of September, according to a report by CNN Español, 25 minors appeared in a single day in the court of Harlingen, Texas, several of them without a lawyer, including a three-year-old child.
After Acacia's departure, the government awarded a contract of up to 244 million dollars to Our Rescue without a competitive bidding process. This organization, dedicated to combating child trafficking and exploitation, has faced criticism from several Democratic senators regarding its lack of experience in providing legal services. The transition has necessitated the establishment of temporary agreements to maintain legal assistance amidst uncertainty about the continuity of representation for thousands of migrant minors.
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