A federal contract that pays legal groups across the country to represent unaccompanied children in immigration court expired last week.
The organization managing that network says this puts more than 20,000 minors at risk of going unrepresented.
California Democratic Assemblymember Maggy Krell of Sacramento is a former prosecutor and sent an open letter to the Trump Administration about this issue.
Krell says some minors are victims of trafficking and abuse, and these protections have been in place for years.
“We want them to stop deporting crime victims who have U and T visas pending," said Krell, "and also stop targeting vulnerable children and stripping them of legal protections.”
Other signatories include the District Attorneys for San Joaquin, Sutter, and Glenn Counties, along with other current and former prosecutors.
The Department of Health and Human Services says the safety and wellbeing of all children in its custody remains a priority.
But HHS says the government has “every right to know which children in its custody are receiving the legal representation that the American taxpayer is paying for.”