Late last year, Florida Immigration Law and Justice Center started the process of becoming a subcontractor for ACACIA Center for Justice’s Unaccompanied Children Program. And in late November 2024, started the process of finalizing all the contracts and learning all about the program and what it entailed. Florida ILJ formally became a Legal Service Provider for the Unaccompanied Children Program in March of 2024, and we have been busy staffing the program and getting started on services.

Every year, thousands of children enter the United States unaccompanied and are apprehended and are placed in federal custody by the Office of Refugee and Resettlement (ORR). These children are also placed into removal proceedings (deportation). ACACIA provides federal funds to organizations such as ours to ensure that no child goes through the complicated immigration process of a removal hearing without representation. We provide screenings, Know Your Rights presentations, and direct legal representations to children that have been released from ORR  custody into the Miami-Dade, Broward, and Monroe Counties. Under this program, we ensure universal representation to all children – meaning  that any child that comes to us to seek services is guaranteed representation regardless of the merits of their case or benefit they may be eligible for. This model ensures that all children receive services and are not left without to handle their immigration process alone or fall victim to predatory unlicensed providers that will often promise relief that is unavailable to the child, often charging exorbitant fees.

“To be part of this program is a great honor and shows ACACIA’s faith in our ability to provide quality legal representation to the most vulnerable of clients.” said Nicole Leon, Florida ILJ’s Executive Director. Our ability to not only provide quality services but in a culturally humble and trauma-informed manner is just one of the reasons we were selected to part of this program. We are currently working with referrals from providers all across the country as well as case and social workers in South Florida to connect with our clients and get services started. We hope to grow this program and expand our geographic reach to other communities in Florida where there is still a great need for these services.