EL PASO — A long-standing legal safety net for migrant children in El Paso quietly collapsed Friday when Estrella del Paso closed its Unaccompanied Children’s Program after a federal contract expired, the organization announced. The decision led to 13 layoffs and raises immediate questions about how hundreds of children will access lawyers for immigration court.
Decades of work, halted by contract lapse
Estrella del Paso, a ministry of the Catholic Diocese of El Paso that has provided legal services since 1986, said the program that specifically served unaccompanied immigrant children had been funded by Congress for nearly 20 years. The group said it currently represents 243 unaccompanied migrant children.
Organization leaders said the program closed after a Department of Health and Human Services contract expired late Friday and was not extended. Estrella also said the group is owed nearly $1 million from the federal government for work already performed.
“Over the course of 20 years, this network of legal service providers has developed a unique level of expertise working with children who have experienced trauma,” said Melissa Lopez, Estrella del Paso executive director. “We have spent 20 years building this institutional knowledge that we are going to lose on Friday. There is no replacing the organizations providing these services.”
Immediate consequences for children and staff
Thirteen employees were laid off after the contract expired. Estrella del Paso said its attorneys have an ethical and legal obligation to continue representing the children even if the government withholds payment — a point that underscores the strain on the nonprofit’s finances and staffing.
- Employees laid off: 13
- Children currently represented: 243
- Program funding history: Nearly 20 years of congressional support
Leaders warned that the loss of experienced providers could have long-term effects on children's outcomes in immigration court. Estrella noted research and practice that show children who appear without counsel face a much higher risk of deportation.
Broader national impact
The closure in El Paso mirrors a larger nationwide disruption: the July 31 deadline applied to other federal contracts, potentially leaving more than 20,000 children across the country without legal representation, Estrella said. The group pointed to a March 2025 move by HHS that terminated nearly all legal work nonprofits had been performing under similar contracts.
Locally, attorneys and advocates worry about the gap this creates in an already strained system. Immigration courts rely heavily on nonprofit legal service providers to handle cases for unaccompanied children, who often need specialized representation because of trauma, age and complex legal issues.
What Estrella will continue to do
Despite the program shutdown, Estrella del Paso said it will keep representing unaccompanied children when ethical obligations require it — even if payment from the government is withheld. That stance points to a difficult balancing act: maintaining legal duties to clients while confronting depleted resources and staff reductions.
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Staff laid off | 13 |
| Children represented | 243 |
| Years of congressional funding | Nearly 20 |
| Amount Estrella says it is owed | Nearly $1 million |
For El Paso, a border city where immigration services are a routine part of civic life, the program’s end is more than an administrative change. It removes a layer of trusted, trauma-informed counsel that helped families and young people navigate a legal system many here say is stacked against them.
Advocates and local leaders will be watching whether federal agencies move to restore contracts or whether other nonprofits can step in. In the meantime, Estrella’s former clients and the employees who lost jobs Friday are left to pick up the pieces of a program that had become a steady presence in El Paso’s immigrant community.
