Legal Orientation Program
Despite nearly two decades of bipartisan support, the Trump administration terminated programs providing basic due process protections for people navigating their immigration cases on April 16, 2025: the Legal Orientation Program, the Legal Orientation Program for Custodians, Immigration Court Helpdesk, Family Group Legal Orientation Program, and Counsel for Children Initiative.
To justify terminating the contract, the Department of Justice claims they intend to federalize the program, which will mean the same administration trying to deport millions of people will also be responsible for ensuring that those people understand their basic legal rights and obligations and are treated with dignity.
Let’s be clear. This clear conflict of interest will deny people detained by ICE access to basic information about what is happening to them. And when people are being ripped off the streets from their communities by masked agents with no impunity or accountability, they deserve – at a minimum – to have access to the same due process rights guaranteed to everyone in the U.S. under the Constitution. Due process rights are not up for debate.
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About
The Legal Orientation Program for Custodians provides information to custodians of unaccompanied children, giving them invaluable tools to navigate the immigration court process. The Program also educates custodians about their responsibilities to a) ensure the child attends all immigration hearings and b) ensure the child is protected from mistreatment, exploitation, and trafficking. In 2023, the program educated more than 30,000 custodians.
In Our Network
Services at 14 sites and two nationwide call centers
Services
- Group orientations give custodians a general overview of their responsibilities to ensure the child’s appearance at all immigration court hearings, and protect the child from mistreatment, exploitation, and trafficking.
- Individual orientations are one-on-one meetings where custodians ask more detailed legal questions about specific defenses, forms of relief, and the court process.
- Pro se workshops are for custodians seeking pro se assistance with forms and motions on behalf of the child.
- Legal screenings are conducted with the child without the custodian present to identify if the child has been subjected to mistreatment, exploitation, or trafficking, and identify cases for possible pro bono representation.
- Recognizing that legal representation is preferable for all children in removal proceedings, referrals to pro bono attorneys are made where possible.
People Served
Custodians of unaccompanied children and unaccompanied children
Our Partners Say
“We provided Friend of the Court services to a minor who had suffered emotional and physical abuse at the hands of her father. We later found out that the minor’s mother had also been abusive in the past. The minor’s grandfather is in the process of obtaining full custody.”
Legal Service Provider, Dallas, TX
LOPC Service Providers