DATE:
September 9, 2025
16
TO:
Board of Supervisors
SUBJECT
Title
NO CHILD ALONE IN COURT: EXPANDING THE IMMIGRANT LEGAL DEFENSE PROGRAM TO PROTECT UNACCOMPANIED MINORS (DISTRICTS: ALL)
Body
OVERVIEW
Beginning October 1, 2025, hundreds of unaccompanied immigrant children, some as young as toddlers, will be forced to stand before an immigration judge without an attorney. They will face federal prosecutors alone, with their futures and safety on the line.
This crisis was manufactured by the federal Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the U.S. Department of Justice, which on March 21, 2025, moved to eliminate legal representation for tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors. On April 29, 2025, a federal court ordered funding to continue but only through September 30, 2025i. After that date, children in our community will again be left without counsel in deportation proceedings. This is about the most basic right to due process and a fair day in court.
The local impact is already clear. Earlier this year, roughly 300 children in San Diego County lost their attorneys when federal contracts were abruptly cut, including fifty left mid-case when a nonprofit's contract was terminatedii. These are children in our neighborhoods and schools, abandoned to navigate a system stacked against them.
Jose was 4 and Maria was 16 when they came to San Diego, fleeing persecution and reuniting with a family member in the United States. At their first immigration hearing they stood alone, told to find an attorney who could help them pursue legal status. They had no money for counsel and spent months searching before finding a pro bono lawyer.
Eventually, a lawyer guided them through a maze of filings: asylum applications, immigration court hearings, and a California Superior Court petition for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), a pathway for children who have been abused, abandoned, or neglected to pursue permanent residency. Because their safety de...
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