DeLauro Statement on Court Ruling Ordering Trump Administration to Release $65 Million in Blocked Funding for Children’s Legal Services

WASHINGTON – Yesterday, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued a ruling ordering the Trump administration to release $65 million in withheld payments to legal service providers contracted to represent unaccompanied children in immigration proceedings in accordance with U.S. law. The court gave the Trump administration until 12:00pm PST (3:00pm EST) today to release the funds, which are reimbursements for services already rendered.

House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro issued the following statement regarding the court ruling:

“The Trump administration withheld this funding in an attempt to extort lawyers who represent unaccompanied children into disclosing sensitive, protected information about those children and their families. Today, the court affirmed that this flagrant abuse of power is illegal.

“It is encouraging that the court has recognized these legal service providers deserve to be made whole. But this administration’s efforts to target children in their anti-immigration crackdown are ongoing. 

“Unaccompanied children are entitled under U.S law to humane treatment and due process, which includes access to legal representation. I am glad the courts recognize the essential role legal counsel plays in this process and will continue to push back against Trump Administration policies that use children to advance their radical anti-immigrant agenda.”

###