Trump Wants to Privatize Migrant Kids’ Legal Aid
The Trump administration is working to privatize a legal defense program for tens of thousands of unaccompanied immigrant children, opening the door for a for-profit ICE technology contractor to take over in partnership with Angelina Jolie’s NGO.
After a failed attempt earlier this year to eliminate the legal defense system, the Trump administration quietly floated a radical refashioning of the program. (Andrew Harnik / Getty Images)
The Trump administration is sabotaging a legal defense program for tens of thousands of unaccompanied immigrant children, according to government documents and an internal letter from immigration lawyers sounding the alarm reviewed by The Lever.
As a result, the legal-aid program may soon fall into the hands of a for-profit Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) technology contractor, an unprecedented move that would privatize critical legal services for some of the most vulnerable children in the country.
The vendor, which boasts of its artificial intelligence use, is allegedly working in partnership with a nonprofit cofounded by Microsoft and Hollywood actress and philanthropist Angelina Jolie to submit a bid for this new contract. The two outfits currently share a federal contract to provide social services and legal counseling for immigrant children following their release from government custody.
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