Trump Will Force Unaccompanied Children to Face Court Alone
21 MARCH 2025
From ICE raids in schools to courts without lawyers, Trump’s war on children escalates—now targeting the most vulnerable with no oversight
Washington, D.C. – The Trump administration has escalated its war on children—issuing a near-total termination of the Unaccompanied Children Program (UCP), cutting off legal representation for 26,000 unaccompanied children navigating the immigration system alone. Simultaneously, it has moved to shutter the Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, eliminating crucial oversight at a time when Trump’s mass deportation agenda is expanding to legal residents, long-settled workers, and even U.S. citizens.
The UCP, established in 2003 with bipartisan support, has long been a lifeline for children who arrive in the United States without a parent or guardian. Without this program, they now face the impossible task of navigating the complex U.S. immigration system alone—many without even the ability to read or write. And with Trump seeking $350 billion to supercharge this agenda through reconciliation, and a 1798 wartime law in his back pocket, anyone could be next.
Statement from Kerri Talbot, Co-Executive Director of the Immigration Hub:
“This is not just cruelty—it’s authoritarianism in plain sight. Trump is systematically dismantling legal protections for children while shutting down the very civil rights office tasked with keeping the government accountable.
What kind of country forces children—many fleeing violence and trauma—to stand alone in court while stripping away every safeguard meant to protect them? What kind of government criminalizes kids seeking refuge and then silences its own watchdogs?
This administration is not defending the rule of law. It is waging a political war on children, on civil rights, and on the very idea that all people deserve dignity and due process. If we let this stand, we’re not just failing these children—we’re abandoning our democracy.”
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The Immigration Hub is a national organization dedicated to advancing fair and just immigration policies through strategic leadership, innovative communications strategies, legislative advocacy and collaborative partnerships.
