Three nonprofit organizations that provide legal representation to unaccompanied migrant children report that federal agents attempted to access their offices in what they characterize as intimidation efforts targeting legal service providers.
The organizations announced Friday that personnel from Homeland Security Investigations, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement division, and the U.S. Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General sought entry to Washington D.C.-area offices of Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, Ayuda, and Kids in Need of Defense.
These visits occurred as the current Trump administration works to reduce funding for nonprofit legal groups that assist immigrant children, part of what advocates describe as broader efforts targeting this vulnerable population.
Michael Lukens, who leads Amica, reported that agents arrived at their facility Thursday requesting financial documents connected to their contract for serving unaccompanied migrant children. The agents lacked warrants or supporting documentation for their demands, prompting the organization to refuse entry, according to Lukens.
“There was no reason to show up other than to intimidate us, which didn’t work,” said Lukens, who added that the legal service providers already regularly provide updates to the government on their work. Lukens said the law enforcement visits were part of months of “very quiet and strategic attacks” by the administration against immigrant children’s legal rights.
“If the kids don’t have attorneys it’s very unlikely they can fight their cases,” he said.
Wendy Young, president at KIND, described how two agents with the HHS Office of Inspector General appeared at their D.C. office Thursday. Without warrants or subpoenas, they requested access to financial records.
Paula Fitzgerald, the executive director at Ayuda, said two agents came to their location Wednesday morning seeking billing and invoice information related to their migrant children legal services. When Fitzgerald requested they submit their request via email, they agreed to follow up and departed.
Young warned these encounters could create a chilling atmosphere for legal service providers already facing financial pressure under the Trump administration.
“I think there’s an overarching approach which is to harass and intimidate those organizations that are set up to provide services to this very vulnerable population because these are kids who cannot navigate the immigration system without the assistance of counsel,” Young said.
Both Young and Lukens noted the visits coincided with a Thursday news conference where Justice Department, Homeland Security and Health and Human Services officials announced cases against three Guatemalan nationals, highlighting concerns about sponsor vetting in programs reuniting children with relatives or family friends.
Conference officials also announced investigations into so-called super-sponsors who obtained custody of more than three unrelated children, examining whether these arrangements involved fraud.
“It seems to be that the timing probably wasn’t coincidental,” Young said.
The second Trump administration briefly suspended the legal aid program for children early in its tenure with minimal explanation, then reversed the decision one week later.
Currently, the legal aid organizations report unpaid government obligations. KIND, which claims to have represented 14,000 immigrant children and provided legal rights education to 70,000 more since its founding, states they are owed $20 million for completed services.
The 2008 Trafficking Victims Protection Act established special protections for children arriving in the U.S. without parents or legal guardians, directing the government to facilitate legal representation for children in deportation proceedings, though not requiring every child receive an attorney.
Unaccompanied children may seek asylum, juvenile immigration status, or visas for sexual exploitation victims. Most children require interpreters as they don’t speak English.
When contacted for comment, Immigration and Customs Enforcement referred inquiries to the Justice Department, which directed them to the Office of Refugee Resettlement under Health and Human Services. HHS referred questions to the inspector general’s office, which stated they generally neither confirm nor deny ongoing investigations.
