A federal timeline separates attendance as a friend of the court from formal representation during a legal-services handover to a contractor funded through December 31.
A 1-year-old migrant boy had no lawyer at his first immigration hearing in July but gained formal representation in September, according to Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) records described by Fox News on October 23. His 17-year-old mother accompanied him at every court proceeding. The timeline documents both the initial gap and the later appointment of a lawyer during a national change of legal-services providers.
The federal programme funds legal services for unaccompanied migrant children.
The handover followed the administration’s termination of the Acacia Center for Justice contract, which ended July 31. The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) began replacement services on August 5. Its initial attendance at the family’s hearings as a friend of the court was distinct from formally becoming their lawyer.
The ORR timeline sets out several different stages of legal assistance:
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Fox News, citing federal spending records, reported that the US Department of Health and Human Services awarded Acacia a $356.3 million contract in November 2023. More than $236.9 million had been paid out before it ended. Acacia’s network previously provided counsel to roughly 20,000 migrant children nationwide, according to its website.
| Provider | Contract value | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Acacia Center for Justice | $356.3 million | Awarded November 2023; ended July 31, 2026. |
| USCRI | $20 million | Services began August 5; contract expires December 31, 2026. |
ORR acting director Angie Salazar and senior adviser John Fabbricatore attributed the initial court lapses to contractor failures and inadequate invoice oversight. Officials cited the July breakdowns as a reason for ending Acacia’s contract. Salazar said redacted invoices prevented her from determining exactly which services had been provided; Fabbricatore alleged that Acacia refused to supply case identifiers needed to track representation. Fox News said it had contacted Acacia for comment.
Analysis
Salazar estimated that USCRI was attending about 98% of immigration hearings involving children in ORR care, against a 100% target. That estimate concerns attendance, not the share of children nationwide with formal legal representation. Fabbricatore described a process in which USCRI could first attend as a friend of the court, identify an unrepresented child and arrange to represent that child at a later hearing.
In the mother and child’s case, the judge granted another postponement on October 2. Fox News’s October 23 report listed a follow-up hearing for that day. The replacement legal-services contract is due to expire on December 31.
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