On Feb. 18, Alvaro de la Cruz-Correa, an immigration lawyer in Spokane, Washington, got an email from his bosses. He would have to stop his work on cases that involved immigrant children, by order of the federal government. No other information was provided.
Two days later, another email came through: Never mind. He could continue his work on those cases, after all.
But two days after that, an internal memo was provided to news organizations that show Trump officials directed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to target and deport the very children de la Cruz-Correa represents 鈥� unaccompanied migrant children.
鈥淔or the first time, I really felt a sense of defeat over this kind of work that I鈥檓 doing,鈥� de la Cruz-Correa, a legal advocate for unaccompanied children, said after he received the initial stop-work order. 鈥淚t feels like the system is winning when it comes to making the lives harder for both immigrants and their lawyers.鈥�
The contradictory directives from the Trump administration has created an atmosphere of confusion for unaccompanied migrant children, who have fled their home countries to arrive at the U.S. border without a parent or guardian, and their immigration cases.
In the Pacific Northwest, nonprofit legal aid organizations like Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, Kids in Need of Defense and Manzanita House, where de la Cruz-Correa works, represent hundreds of unaccompanied migrant children who have settled with sponsors. Leaders in the organizations told InvestigateWest that their clients, many of whom have fled violence in their home countries, are fearful of the fast-paced changes and that their attorneys are unsure what could happen next.
鈥淲e are preparing (our clients) as best as we can to know their rights and know what鈥檚 happening in their case,鈥� said Vanessa Gutierrez, deputy director of Northwest Immigrant Rights Project. 鈥淲e want them to be able to be children and live their lives and not worry about their immigration status. But unfortunately, they have to these days.鈥�
Between 2015 and 2023, around 4,000 unaccompanied migrant children were settled with sponsor families in Washington, Oregon and Idaho, according to Most do not have legal representation to help them navigate their complex deportation cases, but some have advocated through nonprofits that are in part federally funded.
Manzanita House, a nonprofit dedicated to serving immigrants and refugees in Spokane, represents 10 unaccompanied migrant children. The Northwest Immigrant Rights Project represents over 300 unaccompanied migrant children. Kids in Need of Defense, which has an office in Seattle, represents hundreds more.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo that prioritizes issuing deportation orders to unaccompanied migrant children comes at a time when the need for legal representation for undocumented immigrants is growing. Though exact numbers of undocumented immigrants detained in the Northwest were not available, and activity by Border Patrol agents and ICE have increased in recent weeks
Organizations in the Northwest like Kids in Need of Defense and Northwest Immigrant Rights Project are worried about their federal funds. They rely on a contract between the federal government and Acacia Center for Justice, the national organization that oversees 158 legal service organizations that provide legal representation to unaccompanied migrant children.
It receives around $200 million in federal funds each year to provide legal counsel to children, but the five-year contract with the government is up for renewal next month. Many advocates, including Gutierrez, worry it won鈥檛 be renewed, leaving unaccompanied migrant children to navigate their cases alone.
鈥業 don鈥檛 leave the house鈥�
Immigration lawyers across the region told InvestigateWest that the recent Trump directives around unaccompanied migrant children have led to renewed fear in the immigrant community.
Gutierrez said her organization held a 鈥淜now Your Rights鈥� presentation in a recent weekend that was sparsely attended in Peshastin, an unincorporated community in Washington鈥檚 Chelan County.
鈥淚 think people are probably afraid to go out in public and go to an event that鈥檚 related to immigration protections, because it makes them feel vulnerable and like they are outing themselves as immigrants,鈥� she said.
Gutierrez said many of their clients are scared to leave their homes, fearing deportation and separation from their families.
鈥淭hey say, 鈥業 just go to work and go to the grocery store, and I come home鈥� and 鈥業 don鈥檛 leave the house because of fear,鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淎nd these are clients that have protections and lawyers. So I can鈥檛 imagine the ones that don鈥檛 have lawyers.鈥�
In the cases that de la Cruz-Correa handles, he said, children have fled violence or danger in their home countries, and now with the uncertainty that the Trump administration has brought to the immigration legal system, they also fear deportation.
鈥淭he question that I don鈥檛 feel like I have a good answer to is: Will immigration enforcement come for me at school?鈥� he said.
De la Cruz-Correa has clients as young as 11.
鈥榃hat鈥檚 coming next?鈥�
Immigration attorneys who work on unaccompanied minor cases are also wondering what could be in store for their organizations from the Trump administration.
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to focus on what we have control over, but there鈥檚 always that worry of what鈥檚 coming next or is ICE going to show up at our office? Is ICE going to audit us?鈥� Gutierrez said. 鈥淎nd there is an attempt at intimidating organizations like ours that are protecting people鈥檚 legal rights, so we wouldn鈥檛 be surprised if things like that end up happening.鈥�
Since Trump took office, his administration has cracked down on undocumented immigrants, deporting over 5,600 people, according to, and weakening and in place to support them.
On Sunday, Feb. 23, Reuters obtained an ICE memo that outlined steps the agency should take to begin targeting unaccompanied migrant children for deportation. The memo, which was not made public, directed agents to focus on children who are considered 鈥渇light risks鈥� who have been given deportation orders for missing court dates as well as children living with sponsors who are not blood relatives.
Previous reporting from InvestigateWest found that as of 2017, just 26% of unaccompanied migrant children in Washington had legal representation in their cases and just 35% of such children in Oregon did.
Unaccompanied children are typically apprehended at the border, then placed in custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. The children are undocumented, but by law the agency must take care of them, by placing them with sponsors and keeping track of them as their cases move through immigration court. Once a child enters the agency鈥檚 custody, there is a removal case filed against them, and they must seek asylum or another protected status in order to remain in the U.S. There is a severe shortage of legal assistance available to unaccompanied children in the Northwest.
Samuel Smith, an immigration attorney with Manzanita House, previously told InvestigateWest that he worked on a case with a child who was issued a deportation order for missing a court date. The child had tried to make it to court, but got the location wrong.
鈥淭hey were making good-faith attempts and didn鈥檛 know their case was at a different location. We were lucky enough to show up with them, and the judge reopened the case,鈥� Smith told InvestigateWest in December. 鈥淚n these cases, when they make mistakes, the consequences are so severe.鈥�
Without legal representation, unaccompanied migrant children are much more likely to be deported. Kids in Need of Defense says the success rate for gaining legal status is five times higher when an unaccompanied minor has professional representation.
De la Cruz-Correa said it would be 鈥渘early impossible鈥� for his young clients to navigate their cases without assistance, and though he is trying to be positive for his clients, he worries about the recent political attacks on his clients and profession. His role with Manzanita House is funded through Acacia.
鈥淎ttempting to undermine due process by cutting off access to legal representation for the most vulnerable, unaccompanied migrant children, does not seem like justice is being carefully administered,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he fear and uncertainty for this population remain.鈥�
InvestigateWest (investigatewest.org) is an independent news nonprofit dedicated to investigative journalism in the Pacific Northwest. A Report for America corps member, reporter Rachel Spacek can be reached at rachel@investigatewest.org.