Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Democrat Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia co-wrote a letter of criticism to the Trump Administration over an immigration policy decision to defund a legal representation program for unaccompanied minors.
Murkowski, one of the most vocal Republican critics of Trump, condemns the Department of Health and Human Services for halting the program after the last contract came to an end in March.
In her April 15 letter, Murkowski urged HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to immediately reinstate legal representation for over 26,000 unaccompanied minors currently in federal custody.
There is no indication that these minors will not get representation through the usual means, but Murkowski seems to think the worst will happen. Some nonprofits, like Kids in Need of Defense, as well as state-run programs continue to provide legal aid to unaccompanied minors.
Her letter expresses “serious concern” over what she calls a “reckless and harmful” move that directly violates the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008. Yet the funding of this program did not start until 2023, raising a question about how the law had been violated throughout the Obama Administration.
“Terminating legal representation for more than 26,000 unaccompanied children flouts this mandate,” the letter reads. “Without legal representation, children will face significantly higher risk of predation by traffickers.”
The termination of what has been a two-year-old program started by President Biden occurred shortly after the contract with the Acacia Center for Justice ended on March 21. The center had been funded by the Biden Administration since 2023 and has some philanthropic sources of funding.
The termination of the federal contract represents a shift in border priorities that includes stronger enforcement. Trump has also now sent the military to the southern border to beef up protection.
The Amica Center for Immigrant Rights and other nonprofit organizations filed a federal lawsuit against HHS, arguing the termination violated the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, which mandates access to legal counsel for unaccompanied children to the greatest extent practicable.
The lawsuit claims the decision leaves vulnerable children without representation, risking deportations without due process. But before the $200 million annual funding for the program, youth were represented, but without the middle man of the Acacia Center.
A temporary restraining order was granted on April 1 to halt the termination’s effects until at least April 16, indicating the federal judge will side with the complainants and set up another case to be fought at the Supreme Court.
According to Murkowski, many of the minors are now left to navigate complex immigration proceedings alone, which is a falsehood.
She imagines that toddlers will be standing in front of immigration judges without an advocate or without even understanding the language of the court.
“This population has no meaningful alternative to ORR-administered legal representation,” her letter states, referring to the Office of Refugee Resettlement. “Without restoration of these legal services, too many unaccompanied children will be on their own.”
Her latest move is the most recent flashpoint in Murkowski’s increasingly strained relationship with the Trump Administration. Although a registered Republican, Murkowski has a record of being anti-Trump nearly to the point of obsession, most certainly harming her Alaska constituents by creating hostilities.
In Anchorage this weekend, she told a group of nonprofit leaders that “We are all afraid. It’s quite a statement. But we are in a time and a place where I certainly have not been here before. And I’ll tell ya, I’m oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice, because retaliation is real. And that’s not right,” according to a report by the Anchorage Daily News. Notably, she does not repeat these statements to other groups, but nonprofits in Alaska are a major siphon of federal funds and have become one of her main constituencies.
Murkowski is one of the leaders of the resistance to Trump, who won the state of Alaska by 13.13 percentage points over Kamala Harris, doing better last year than the 10.06 percentage point win he had in Alaska in 2020, when he was challenged by Biden.
Murkowski’s letter was also cc’d to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Angie Salazar, acting director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. Here’s the letter:
I would like to know who this woman is representing, it certainly is not conservatives, which she claims to be.
She is simply buying more votes. As long as she can buy native votes she thinks she can get elected to another term. Don’t fool yourself into thinking she really cares about you, she is only looking out for herself and her career. If ahe could stay in office without you she wouldn’t waste time on you. She is a Alaska version of Hillary. Evil to the core
Today is tax day and a big check MUST be sent into the IRS:( This is extremely difficult knowing how our Federal Government spends our money. Murkowski and Sullivan have supported this waste for years and they continue to do so. She’s more concerned about the children of illegal aliens than our own citizens, even American children. I wish the AK GOP would grow a spine and not allow her to call herself a “Republican”
She is just a drama queen desperately trying to draw everyone’s attention off the real issues. (Everyone’s scared). I’m not scared. I’m
Pissed at the level of theft we are seeing but I’m sure not scared. I guess if you’re a thief you would be scared. Hand in the cookie jar murkowski???
Why are the most corrupted always the biggest detractors when their corruption is exposed.
Me thinks that the Senator is just as concerned about the swampy, maximum overhead-cost-recovery, generously-compensated Leftists running the affected NGOs as the children involved.
It is becoming a pattern for the Senator and it is not good.
Yep, Murkowski is definitely a radical, anti-American, RINO leftist.
Only Murkowski issues a diatribe of falsehoods, distraction and obfuscation. Her attempts at placating her decidedly Liberal (Marxist) base is beginning to backfire. Instead of supporting one or the other of two clear sides of an issue, she jumps back and forth as if on cue. I wonder . . . That fence up her backside must really hurt.
Murkowski would criticize Trump if he cured cancer! she has the TDS so bad it is kinda funny, we need for her to just GO AWAY!
Aside from glaring TDS. At issue is legal representation for unaccompanied migrant children!
So if an American citizen goes to court and can’t afford a lawyer, we’re appointed a public defender!
What Liza is trying to preserve is minor children(alien) , directed towards a higher plateau of lawyers?
WTF. ??? Good place to research some results!
God, this woman is pathetic. She’s as broken as Liz Cheney, maybe worse.
She needs professional help. Lots of it.
Murkowski is so out of touch with Alaskans and Americans! She’s become her own wrecking ball. She no longer represents her constituents. She only represents herself!
We can’t shut her up either. She used to talk back and sass me too. And she threatened me if I didn’t appoint her to the Senate back in 2002. Nancy and I are taking a vacation to El Salvador next month. We invited Lisa, but for some reason she got real busy and said no.
If Lisa is so concerned why does she not find a foundation with the Millions her and her father scammed while in office?
When will Alaskans wake up and vote her off the island? Geez!
“ And I’ll tell ya, I’m oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice, because retaliation is real. And that’s not right”. Is she describing her role in the Trump impeachment? You know, the one where SHE thought SHE was retaliating against orange man bad. Now the shoe is on the other foot… sucks being a RINO huh princess.
The “retaliation” to which she refers is the exposure of her criminal and financial entanglements with radical, bigoted, grant-grifting, USAID leeching #TribesWhoBribe by DOGE and DOGE Alaska. Once their funding gets clawed back to the US Taxpayers from whom it was confiscated; these scheming mining competitors fronting as noble inupiat cultural champions and social justice warriors will rescind their top cover for ole fishface and no longer fund her and her campaigns with freshly laundered US taxpayers’ hard earned money.
SHUT UP LISA!!
Murkowski is embarrassing for Alaska.
Once your credibility is destroyed and no one pays you any attention, you have to start making some pretty absurd remarks for the pendulum to swing back your way. Expect Lisa Murkowski to continue on this same path until she confirms for herself that for her the pendulum is gone.
What are the odds the “non-profits” mentioned in the article are just more taxpayer funded USAID money laundering operations under the guise of “helping the children.” No wonder Princess Lisa wants the funds flowing. And no mention of the illegals who trafficked the children in.