UN Warns US Funding Cuts Put Migrant Children at Risk of Rights Violations

“Denying children their right to legal representation and forcing them to navigate complex immigration proceedings alone is a serious violation of children’s rights,” the experts said.

UN human rights experts have raised serious concerns over the termination of federal funding for legal services for unaccompanied migrant children in the United States, warning the move puts thousands of children at risk of rights violations, unlawful detention and forced removal.

“Denying children their right to legal representation and forcing them to navigate complex immigration proceedings alone is a serious violation of children’s rights,” the experts said.

Legal protections suspended

Under the 2008 Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA), the US Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) is responsible for the care and custody of unaccompanied children, while the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is required to protect them from abuse, exploitation and trafficking. The law guarantees access to legal counsel and protection from expedited removal.

However, on 18 February 2025, the US Department of the Interior ordered nonprofit legal service providers to halt work and ended funding for attorneys representing unaccompanied children, effectively suspending the Unaccompanied Children Program.

As a result, an estimated 26,000 children lost access to legal representation, despite many being eligible for immigration relief.

Growing risks to children’s safety

UN experts say legal challenges are currently before US courts, but children remain exposed to serious harm in the meantime. Reports indicate that some children are being:

• Held in windowless cells

• Denied adequate medical care

• Separated from parents or caregivers for extended periods

Between January and August 2025, average custody time reportedly increased from around one month to six months, while releases to family caregivers dropped sharply from about 95% to 45%.

“There have been consistent accounts of unlawful deportations of unaccompanied children, in breach of the principle of non-refoulement,” the experts said, including cases involving child victims of trafficking or children at risk of trafficking.

Children have also reportedly been pressured to accept $2,500 to self-deport, giving up protections under the TVPRA, or face prolonged detention and possible transfer to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody when they turn 18.

Call for child-sensitive justice

The experts stressed that child-sensitive justice procedures must be guaranteed in all immigration and asylum proceedings involving children.

They called for children to have access to administrative and judicial remedies affecting their own situation or that of their parents or caregivers, and warned against procedural delays that undermine children’s rights.

“Expedited proceedings should only be pursued when they are consistent with the child’s best interests and do not restrict due process guarantees,” the experts said.

They urged US authorities to urgently restore legal protections and funding to ensure unaccompanied children are treated in line with international human rights and child protection standards.