Up to 24,000 unaccompanied migrant children in the United States could be left without legal representation after a federal contract funding their legal services expired on Friday, advocates have warned. The contract, held by the nonprofit Acacia Center for Justice, had for five years channelled government funding to roughly 100 legal aid organisations across the country. Its expiration leaves young migrants — ranging in age from toddlers to teenagers — facing immigration court proceedings with no guarantee of counsel.

The US government's commitment to providing legal access to unaccompanied children dates to a 2005 pilot programme and was codified in the bipartisan Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008. That law was designed in part to break cycles of exploitation in which children were trafficked across the border, deported, and then trafficked again. It requires the government to facilitate legal representation for children placed in deportation proceedings. Unaccompanied minors can also apply for a special protected immigration status if they are unable to return home due to abuse or neglect.

The Trump administration has not publicly explained its decision to allow the contract to lapse. The Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the Office of Refugee Resettlement and the care of unaccompanied children, has not responded to requests for comment. Legal aid providers say the government stopped making payments under the contract late last year, withholding an estimated $65 million owed to Acacia and its partner organisations. That funding freeze has already forced layoffs and staff furloughs across the network. Providers have also been pressured to hand over confidential details about their clients — requests they say would violate attorney-client privilege and their core ethical obligations.