Court Orders HHS To Reinstate Legal Aid For 26,000 Migrant Children

On April 1, 2025, a United States District Judge from California ruled that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must reinstate direct legal assistance for migrant children who are in the U.S. alone. This ruling in the case of East Palo Alto, et al., v. HHS occurred after HHS and its Office of Refugee Resettlement issued a stop-work notice to Acacia Center for Justice (Acacia) on March 21, 2025, as part of the Trump Administration's desire to review internal spending. Acacia's contract had been awarded in 2022.

The judge issued a temporary . . .