Cortez Masto, Goldman, Padilla, Crow Demand Trump Administration Reimburse Providers for Legal Services for Unaccompanied Minors

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Congressman Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.), Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), and Congressman Jason Crow (D-Colo.) led 70 lawmakers in demanding that the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) reimburse providers for work performed under their contract to deliver legal services to unaccompanied children. ORR has not issued reimbursements for services rendered since December 2025, despite Congress passing funding for this purpose. The agency’s ongoing refusal to pay providers for their work goes against Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act requirements, the Congress’s budget, and the federal government’s contractual obligations. “ORR’s plain breach of contract threatens the viability of the nationwide network of nonprofit legal service providers that serve vulnerable unaccompanied children. These providers deliver critical legal representation, legal screenings, and Know Your Rights presentations to thousands of children across the country,” wrote the lawmakers . “Their work is essential to ensuring that children are protected from trafficking, exploitation, and other harms, and that they appear for and are able to meaningfully participate in their immigration proceedings. Nonprofit providers do not have the reserves necessary to absorb prolonged nonpayment at this scale. As a result, organizations may be forced to lay off staff, stop accepting new cases, or cease operations altogether. These outcomes would jeopardize thousands of children’s access to legal representation mid-case.” The lawmakers also expressed concern about reports that ORR is putting conditions on reimbursement, including requiring providers to give the government additional, case-specific information that’s not required under the terms of the contract. These demands end up delaying payment and reportedly include identifying information about child clients that may implicate attorney-client privilege and ethical obligations governing confidentiality. The lawmakers are demanding that ORR immediately fulfill all pending invoices, provide an explanation for payment delays, and confirm that ORR will not make new conditions on these payments. Read the full letter here . The first and only Latina senator, Senator Cortez Masto has consistently supported immigrant communities in Nevada, calling on both the Biden and Trump administrations to protect DACA recipients, TPS holders and other immigrants , as well as leading commonsense legislation to fix our broken immigration system. Last year, the Senator introduced the Protect Vulnerable Immigrant Youth Act to fix the Special Immigrant Juvenile Status program. She introduced the Upholding Protections for Unaccompanied Children Act to reverse provisions in the Republican tax law (H.R. 1) that harm unaccompanied children who are seeking safety from trafficking, abuse, and exploitation in their home countries. Cortez Masto has also demanded the Trump Administration take immediate action to ensure Department of Homeland Security stops conducting aggressive, extreme, and dangerous civil enforcement activities within 1,000 feet of school properties. ###