Federal funding is being cut for work by an Arizona nonprofit that helps migrants in detention understand a legal system through which the government aims to deport them.
People facing deportation are not guaranteed a lawyer in immigration court.
Starting in the late 1980s, the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project built a program to teach those unable to pay for a lawyer about the immigration court system. It was later adopted nationally as the Legal Orientation Program. Now, it and similar efforts are congressionally funded.
But on Tuesday a federal judge let the Justice Department halt funding, at least for now.
Legal Director Laura St. John says there are roughly 2,000 people in immigration detention in Arizona, most of whom represent themselves.
“And they are really suffering the consequences of being the scapegoats for a lot of different things that have nothing to do with them,” St. John said.
A group that provides educational programs to migrants is suing to restore funding.
The next scheduled hearing in the case is in mid-May in Washington, D.C.
