The Legal Orientation Program for Custodians (LOPC), funded by the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), seeks to educate the custodians of unaccompanied children in immigration court proceedings, who are, or once were, in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). The LOPC provides information about the children’s legal rights and the custodians’ responsibilities in an attempt to ensure the child’s appearance at immigration court hearings and to protect the child from mistreatment, exploitation, and trafficking. The William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (Pub. L.110-457) tasks EOIR with ensuring that the adult caregivers of unaccompanied children receive legal orientations. To carry out this statutory mandate, Executive Office for Immigration Review’s Legal Access Programs created the LOPC and Acacia manages it. The LOPC also serves as a crucial gateway for connecting children with pro bono attorneys (to the limited extent available). Although not a substitute for counsel, LOPC educates custodians about how to assist their children both in and outside of the immigration court system.  
 
Acacia subcontracts with legal service providers (“LSPs”) throughout the country in order to provide LOPC services in 14 cities and to operate two (2) call centers. Services include:  

• Group orientations are presentations conducted by legal service providers that are provided to a group of two or more custodians, who attend on behalf of one or more child(ren). They are designed to give custodians a general overview of the custodians’ responsibilities to attempt to ensure the child’s appearance at all immigration court hearings, and to protect the child from mistreatment, exploitation, and trafficking. 
• Individual orientations are one-on-one meetings provided to only one custodian who attends on behalf of one or more child(ren). In these meetings, custodians ask LOPC staff more detailed questions about specific defenses and forms of relief from removal, as well as about the court process. As of September 2022, practitioners have the ability to provide legal advice to participants. 
• Self-help workshops are small workshops for custodians seeking pro se assistance with forms and motions on behalf of the child. The presenter can answer individual questions the custodians may have. While most commonly information shared will be general in nature, as of September 2022, practitioners have the ability to provide legal advice to participants. 
• Referrals to pro bono attorneys are made wherever limited pro bono resources allow, recognizing that legal representation is the most appropriate resource for all children in removal proceedings.
• Legal Screenings are one-on-one screenings conducted with the child without the custodian or others (except an interpreter) present. The goals of a legal screening are to provide an opportunity for the provider to (1) identify if the child has been subjected to mistreatment, exploitation, and trafficking, and (2) identify cases for possible pro bono 

The Children’s Counsel Initiative (CCI), funded by the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), provides representation to children who are in removal proceedings without a parent and are not in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). Acacia partners with a network of legal service providers in 14 cities to do this work.

The National Qualified Representative Program (NQRP), funded by the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), is the nation’s first “public defender” representation program in immigration court. The NQRP began based on a 2013 settlement following the class-action lawsuit, Franco-Gonzalez v. Holder. In Franco, the district court for the Central District of California concluded that the 1973 Rehabilitation Act requires appointment of counsel as a reasonable accommodation to individuals in immigration court proceedings who are detained, unrepresented, and incompetent to represent themselves by reason of a serious mental health condition. Since 2013, NQRP has grown into a nationwide appointed counsel program for immigrants in detention, providing competent and holistic representation to an especially vulnerable population through a network of over 40 highly skilled legal service providers. 

• NQRP is the first program to provide publicly funded attorneys in immigration court to defend non-citizens.
• NQRP is the first program to require counsel in immigration court rooted specifically in mental health law.
• NQRP provides for the appointment of counsel regardless of criminal history.
• NQRP emphasizes collaborative decision-making and empathy to provide zealous and person-centered representation.

The Family Group Legal Orientation Program (FGLOP) is a court-based legal education program for individuals in immigration proceedings. The goal of FGLOP is to provide families placed on “dedicated dockets” (an expedited process) with information about court practices and procedures, available legal options, and other relevant topics. FGLOP acts as a safeguard for immigrants in removal proceedings, ensuring a modicum of due process in an adversarial, high-stakes, and complex adjudicatory system. In addition, FGLOP serves as a crucial gateway for connecting people with pro bono attorneys (to the limited extent available). Although not a substitute for counsel, FGLOP educates people about how to advocate for themselves in court.

Acacia subcontracts with legal service providers (“LSPs”) throughout the country in order to provide FGLOP services at 11 courts. FGLOP services include:

• Multi-Family Group Orientations: in-person presentations at the immigration court and FGLOP LSPs’ offices that offer a broad overview of the immigration legal process and basic information on defenses against removal.
• Single Family Orientations: one-on-one meetings, usually held on a walk-in basis or by appointment during specified hours. In these meetings, participants can ask FGLOP staff detailed questions about immigration law and what to expect as they pursue their cases before the court.
• Pro se workshops: small workshops for immigrants who will be representing themselves in court or before USCIS. In these workshops, immigrants can prepare applications and practice with others who will be pursuing similar applications or defenses against removal. 
• Referrals to pro bono attorneys are made wherever limited pro bono resources allow, recognizing that legal representation is the most appropriate resource for all respondents in removal proceedings.

FGLOP also includes Friend of the Court assistance as a supplemental service. A Friend of the Court (FOTC) is an individual or organization that participates in an immigration court proceeding to promote a fair and efficient process by standing alongside the respondent and helping to ensure that the respondent understands the proceedings and their rights and obligations to the greatest extent possible. Although FOTC is not a substitute for representation, FOTC can facilitate greater efficacy in the adjudication of cases and enhance a respondent’s comprehension of proceedings.

Unfortunately, due to funding restrictions, FGLOP does not allow for the provision of legal advice to the participants.   

Recognizing the need to support unaccompanied children in immigration proceedings and ensure that their intersecting needs are best met, the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) implemented the Children’s Holistic Immigration Representation Project (CHIRP) in March of 2022. Novel in its funding of both social and legal services staff, the project’s aim is twofold—to support the expansion of services with a goal of building capacity and to promote best practices in holistic legal representation of unaccompanied children in California. The project provides universal and holistic legal representation where no child is left to defend themselves in immigration proceedings, but rather has an interdisciplinary team of zealous advocates to identify and respond to external challenges that often influence their legal case and which might otherwise go unaddressed. All children served by the project have access to both a social and legal services staff member to assist them through their immigration proceedings.

The Immigration Court Helpdesk (ICH), funded by the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), is a court-based legal education program for individuals in immigration proceedings who are not in detention. The goal of ICH is to provide non-detained respondents appearing before the immigration court, and in some instances before United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), with information about court practices and procedures, available legal options, and other relevant topics. ICH acts as a safeguard for immigrants in removal proceedings, ensuring a modicum of due process in an adversarial, high-stakes, and complex adjudicatory system. In addition, ICH serves as a crucial gateway for connecting people with pro bono attorneys (to the limited extent available). Although not a substitute for counsel, ICH educates people about how to advocate for themselves in court.

ICH helps engage participants in active problem-solving so that those who cannot find an attorney are better equipped to represent themselves in court. Acacia subcontracts with legal service providers (“LSPs”) throughout the country in order to provide ICH services to people facing removal from the United States in more than 20 courts. Although primarily a court-based program, some ICH LSPs also provide orientation services to people in Credible Fear or Asylum Merits Interviews as part of the Asylum Processing Rule Proceedings. ICH services include:

• Group information sessions (GIS): in-person presentations at the immigration court and ICH LSPs’ offices that offer a broad overview of the immigration legal process and basic information on defenses against removal.
• Individual information sessions (IIS): one-on-one meetings, usually held on a walk-in basis or by appointment during specified hours. In these meetings, participants can ask ICH staff detailed questions about immigration law and what to expect as they pursue their cases before the court. As of September 2022, practitioners have the ability to provide legal advice to participants.
• Self-help workshops (SHW): small workshops for immigrants who will be representing themselves in court or before USCIS. In these workshops, immigrants can prepare applications and practice with others who will be pursuing similar applications or defenses against removal. As of September 2022, practitioners have the ability to provide legal advice to participants.
• Referrals to pro bono attorneys are made wherever limited pro bono resources allow, recognizing that legal representation is the most appropriate resource for all respondents in removal proceedings.

ICH also includes Friend of the Court assistance as a supplemental service. A Friend of the Court (FOTC) is an individual or organization that participates in an immigration court proceeding to promote a fair and efficient process by standing alongside the respondent and helping to ensure that the respondent understands the proceedings and their rights and obligations to the greatest extent possible. Although FOTC is not a substitute for representation, FOTC can facilitate greater efficacy in the adjudication of cases and enhance a respondent’s comprehension of proceedings.