Hi friends! For my birthday this year, please join me in supporting Immigration Counseling Service (ICS), an independent nonprofit immigration law firm that provides pro bono attorneys to children left to defend themselves in court.

Under US law, children arrested for entering illegally have no right to a court-appointed lawyer. When children are represented by a lawyer, immigration courts have allowed almost half to remain in the US.

The number of children migrating to the US has nearly tripled in recent years. Children seek refuge for many reasons: to escape war / gangs / violence / abuse, to reunite with family. Others enter involuntarily as labor or sex trafficking victims.

Regardless of the cause, children – as young as toddlers – must appear in court in order to remain in the US. Without representation or legal counsel, this system exploits children who are left vulnerable and alone.

Children have no way to contact, communicate with, or hire a lawyer! They have no access to interpreters, even though most don’t speak or understand English. And like most adults, children can't comprehend the complexity of US immigration laws.

In February 2025, Trump cut off all funding for legal aid to approximately 26,000 unaccompanied immigrant children. Without legal representation, nine out of ten will be deported. This endangers minors already at risk for child trafficking and abuse in their home countries or the US.

A donation to ICS provides critical legal services for unaccompanied children and their families. ICS is the oldest – and only – independent nonprofit law firm serving immigrants in Oregon and Southwest Washington.

You can watch the short film, “Unaccompanied: Alone in America,” to learn more on this topic.