More than 25,000 children lose previous legal protections, as federal contract ends

Thousands of unaccompanied immigrant children are set to lose legal representation. The federal contract that pays for legal access expired Friday.

<img src='https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5456x3637+0+0/resize/5456x3637!/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F17%2F8e%2Ff5c6fd7c4816bcb8fb7153ef0490%2Fgettyimages-2288466180.jpg' alt='Children wait outside of an immigration court at the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building on July 31, 2026 in New York City.'/><p>Thousands of unaccompanied immigrant children are set to lose legal representation. The federal contract that pays for legal access expired Friday.</p><p>(Image credit: Michael M. Santiago)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=nx-s1-5913679' />