Deluzio, Lee Raise Alarm on Federal Government Ending Legal Representation for Hundreds of Unaccompanied Migrant Children in Pennsylvania

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Yesterday, Congressman Chris Deluzio (PA-17) and Congresswoman Summer Lee (PA-12) sent a letter to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Acting Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement Angie Salazar asking critical questions about the abrupt ending of the Unaccompanied Children Legal Services contract between the Office of Refugee Resettlement and the Acacia Center for Justice. This contract provides legal representation for thousands of unaccompanied migrant children who are in the United States. Without further action, the contract will expire today, July 31, 2026, leaving thousands of children across the country-and hundreds in Pennsylvania-in limbo.

The letter reads in part:

"Our offices have heard concerns from an organization in our region that provides legal services to unaccompanied children about the continuity of children's legal cases and their clients' overall wellbeing in the absence of guidance from the government about how the cases will be transferred or managed… "If this organization (and others operating across the country) are unable to continue their work, approximately 20,000 unaccompanied children in federal custody and living in our communities will lose federally funded representation they are to receive under the law. Equally troubling, if the agency does not take action to continue these services, new children that enter ORR custody will be stripped of access to critical legal information and a trusted adult to help them understand their rights starting on August 1, 2026. "Children, many of which have fled violence and exploitation, should not be forced to appear in court alone without representation. Please provide responses to the following questions by August 10, 2026:

1. Why has ORR failed to present the Acacia center with guidance on case continuity?

2. How will the government ensure its compliance with statutory language and court order requiring that unaccompanied children receive legal services?

3. What plans are in place to ensure these unaccompanied minors' cases receive due process according to the law?

4. What is the Administration's plan to transfer or transition these cases and the work of these organizations?

5. When will the Administration release the payments owed to legal services providers?

The full text of the letter is available here.

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