Thread by @reveal

1/ The Office of Refugee Resettlement is in charge of caring for children who have crossed the border alone.

It also pays the salaries of the very lawyers who sometimes challenge its policies.

These attorneys say it’s pressuring them to fall in line. revealnews.org/article/the-go…

2/ The government is holding more migrant kids today, for longer, than ever before, even with a family waiting to take them in.

Kids can challenge their detention, but they need a lawyer’s help. And that’s where things get messy.

3/ The government pays for lawyers to represent kids in custody, thanks to a law signed by George W. Bush. Local legal aid groups get more than $50 million a year to help detained minors.

4/ That sets up a potential conflict: ORR pays these legal nonprofits. Then it faces off against them in court.

5/ Lawyers who worked in the federally funded program say they were told not to challenge the government in court, even if it was their clients’ best shot at reuniting with their families.

6/ One of these lawyers is Lorilei Williams. She says she was told that challenging the government would put her funding at risk.

Fighting to get her clients released, she added, was “not part of the contract.”

7/ That contract is managed by the nonprofit @verainstitute, which works to reduce incarceration and help more people get legal representation.

8/ But under its contract with the government, Vera’s funding depends on demonstrating a "commitment to customer satisfaction."

That “customer” is the government. documentcloud.org/documents/4998…

9/ Williams explained this in a declaration in federal court, which is part of a class-action lawsuit on behalf of detained kids.

documentcloud.org/documents/4623…

10/ According to that lawsuit, this conflict of interest means children are being needlessly locked up and drugged without their consent.

documentcloud.org/documents/4946…

11/ One place kids are being held, without lawyers who can sue to get them out, is the Shiloh Treatment Center in Texas, where drugs were prescribed by a doctor whose certification has lapsed.

We’ve written a lot about this place.

revealnews.org/blog/exclusive…

12/ Another lawyer, Justin Mixon, says the Office of Refugee Resettlement just isn’t used to having its decisions challenged the way a state system would be.

“ORR is not a normal child welfare agency," he said. "They don’t respond to the public. They don’t go to court.”

13/ ORR is the same agency whose director, Scott Lloyd, tried to stop girls in his custody from getting abortions — which is illegal.
revealnews.org/blog/court-fil…

14/ After that controversy, a @VeraInstitute official told lawyers not to mention abortion to kids in government custody. Doing so, she warned, could put their funding at risk. washingtonpost.com/local/immigrat…

15/ It's a risky time for programs like this.

The Trump admin has already threatened to cut off money for similar programs, and has plans to walk away from a court settlement that should guarantee basic rights to migrant kids who cross the border alone. revealnews.org/blog/governmen…

16/ But attorneys say they’re speaking out because the system leaves vulnerable children without protection they need and are entitled to.

For most migrant kids detained alone, the only lawyers they’ll ever see are being paid by the same agency that’s holding them.

17/ We’re going to keep after this story. If you have a tip about this government-funded legal aid program, tell us at [e-mail].

18/ And to get the latest from our reporters covering U.S. immigration policies and their effects on children, please sign up for our newsletter: revealnews.org/newsletter