Securing Access to Justice:
New Jersey Must Prioritize Legal Representation for Unaccompanied Children
We need your help! Join us in calling for increased funding for legal representation for New Jersey’s unaccompanied children.
The New Jersey Legislature is currently considering budget requests as they work with the Governor’s Proposed Budget for FY2027. We need your support to call on our legislature to increase funding for the Legal Representation for Children and Youth Program to $10 million. This program ensures that vulnerable immigrant children receive quality legal representation and support as they integrate into our communities. Providing these services helps unaccompanied children feel supported and safe, so they can thrive and contribute positively to our communities. With your support, we can continue to make an impact in their lives and create a brighter future for all children who call New Jersey home.
-
🔸 New Jersey consistently ranks among the top five states nationally receiving unaccompanied children, and since 2015, more than 36,000 unaccompanied children have been released to caregivers in our state. Most children are placed directly into deportation proceedings without guaranteed access to counsel. Through the Legal Representation for Children and Youth Program, New Jersey has built a responsive and effective framework to support some of the most vulnerable children in its communities. Immigrant children are New Jersey’s children. Protecting them is both a moral responsibility and a sound investment in the state’s future.
🔸Over the past year, unaccompanied children and similarly situated youth have faced unprecedented targeting by the federal government. Immigration enforcement has intensified across New Jersey, leading to a heightened risk of arrest and detention for children and families. This has had a profound destabilizing effect on children; they are increasingly afraid to access basic services, like school and health care, while families hesitate to seek legal help. At the same time, federal legal protections for unaccompanied children have been rolled back, and federal funding for immigration legal services has become uncertain and increasingly restrictive. In this climate, New Jersey’s Legal Representation for Children and Youth Program ensures unaccompanied children receive continuity, stability, and meaningful participation in their legal proceedings.
🔸 Governor Sherrill's FY2027 budget proposal maintains level funding of the Legal Representation for Children and Youth Program at $5.35 million, but this funding level no longer reflects the scale, complexity or duration of children’s cases, nor does it reflect the workforce demands placed on legal service providers. We must meet this moment and expand the legal infrastructure of the state’s Legal Representation for Children and Youth Program to protect the rights of our most vulnerable youth. With robust support for this program, we can make a real difference in the lives of unaccompanied children in New Jersey. That is why we must come together to call on the NJ legislature to increase funding to $10 million for this program.
🗣️ Contact your Legislators:
Find your district and legislators here.
You can also call or email the Budget Leaders, as well as the Speaker and Senate President, and urge them to support increased funding for the Legal Representation for Children and Youth Program:
-
Sample Script 1 (for contacting your own legislator):
Hello,
My name is [Your Name], and I'm contacting you as a constituent and community advocate to ask for your support to increase funding for the Legal Representation for Children and Youth Program to $10 million. Given the increase in immigration enforcement throughout New Jersey over the past year, it is essential to ensure unaccompanied children across the state have access to expert legal representation in their defense against deportation, as well as the necessary services to give them a fair opportunity to integrate and thrive in New Jersey. Increasing funding to $10 million for this program in the final budget will ensure children in our state have a meaningful chance for safe and healthy lives in New Jersey.
Can we count on your support?
Sample Script 2 (if contacting the budget chairs/Assembly Speaker/Senate President):
Hello [Legislator Name],
My name is [Your Name], and I'm reaching out today as a community advocate to ask for your support to increase funding for the Legal Representation for Children and Youth Program to $10 million. Given the increase in immigration enforcement throughout New Jersey over the past year, it is essential to ensure unaccompanied children across the state have access to expert legal representation in their defense against deportation , as well as the necessary services to give them a fair opportunity to integrate and thrive in New Jersey. Increasing funding to $10 million for this program in the final budget will ensure children in our state have a meaningful chance for safe and healthy lives in New Jersey. Thank you for your time.