**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 5, 2025) — Nonprofit legal services organizations are suing the Trump administration to restore a critical national program that provided federal funding for legal representation for people deemed mentally incompetent who are detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
On April 25, the administration suddenly, and without explanation, terminated the nationwide provision of the National Qualified Representative Program (NQRP) in all but three states where it remains required by court order. The program, launched in 2013 by the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security in response to class action litigation, provided counsel to people in immigration detention who had been found by an immigration judge or the Board of Immigration Appeals to be mentally incompetent and therefore unable to represent themselves in deportation proceedings. The cancellation came amid a slew of other Trump administration actions ending federal programs that provided access to counsel and due process for immigrants facing deportation.
About 200 people were receiving legal representation under the program when it was terminated.
Immigrants and asylum seekers who are deemed mentally incompetent to represent themselves, often on account of severe mental illness or cognitive disability, face extraordinary obstacles in navigating the immigration system, even more so when they are locked in isolated ICE detention centers with limited or no access to mental health care or the outside world. Access to qualified counsel gives individuals a fighting chance to exercise their due process rights under U.S. immigration law and to present evidence, cross-examine witnesses, and participate in a fair hearing.
The National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC), Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, and Zuckerman Spaeder LLP are co-counsel in the case representing 9 organizations that provided legal representation under the program: American Gateways, Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, Estrella del Paso, Galveston-Houston Immigrant Representation Project, NIJC, Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center, Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network, Immigration Services & Legal Advocacy, and the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, argues that the termination of the nationwide NQRP unduly interferes with plaintiffs’ existing attorney-client relationships and violates the Administrative Procedure Act.
Co-counsel and organizational plaintiffs provided the following statements:
Keren Zwick, director of litigation, National Immigrant Justice Center, said:
“Without NQRP, some of the most vulnerable people in our country have been left to fend for themselves in ICE detention and are at grave risk of removal without a court ever considering, or even knowing about, their circumstances or the harms that await them. This lawsuit joins a growing list of legal challenges seeking to stop the Trump administration from eliminating the right to due process for immigrants in our country.”
Laura Lunn, director of advocacy & litigation, Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network, said:
“The government’s action in cutting funding for court-appointed counsel for people not competent to represent themselves in immigration court is not just heartless and cruel, but also discriminatory against people with disabilities. Without the assistance of attorneys, people will suffer in detention while their cases languish in legal limbo.”
Evan Benz, senior attorney, Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, said:
“The unlawful termination of NQRP is the latest attack from this administration against vulnerable immigrants. They have cut lawyers for unaccompanied children and legal orientation programs for adults in detention, and now they’re trying to take away lawyers for detained immigrants with mental disabilities. These attempts to prevent immigrants at risk of deportation from exercising their rights can not stand. We demand that NQRP be restored nationwide so that we can continue serving clients with mental health conditions or developmental disabilities in immigration court, because no one else can or will.”
Edna Yang, co-executive director, American Gateways, said:
“The sudden end of the NQRP leaves some of the most vulnerable people in our immigration system without any legal support. These individuals, often facing serious mental health challenges, are now left to navigate a complex system alone. At American Gateways, we know how crucial legal representation is for ensuring that everyone has a fair chance in court, especially when their futures are on the line.”
Robyn Meyer-Thompson, supervising attorney, Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, said:
“Noncitizens in detention with mental health challenges and cognitive disabilities are among the most vulnerable in need of our assistance. The decision to end this program is devastating not only for our clients but also for due process.”
Ryan Brunsink, managing attorney for removal defense, Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center, said:
“The assault on due process for all persons in the United States remains front and center with the cut to the NQRP. Some of our most vulnerable clients are represented under this program — individuals with intellectual disabilities, severe brain injuries, mental illness, and other disabilities that impact their ability to meaningfully participate in their immigration hearings. Everyone deserves a fair shot to exercise their rights and to seek justice. Without appointed counsel, our NQRP clients cannot do so. It’s our belief in fundamental fairness that compels us to continue our fight through this litigation.”
Liz Hoefer, Galveston-Houston Immigrant Representation Project (GHIRP), said:
“The NQRP termination is another devastating blow to due process for vulnerable immigrants. For most individuals who are mentally incompetent, the task of presenting a claim for relief from removal on their own is insurmountable. Without NQRP, detained immigrants with significant mental health concerns will go unidentified and unrepresented. They will be deported without even understanding the proceedings happening around them, and without the due process they deserve. As recently as November, GHIRP obtained a grant of asylum for a man from West Africa who would have been subjected to torture in a so-called prayer camp because of his disability had he been returned to his home country. Termination of this program means people like our client will be deported without any meaningful opportunity to fight their case, and with no attorney by their side.”
Homero López, Jr., Legal Director, Immigration Services & Legal Advocacy, said:
“Our legal system is founded on the principle of due process, and NQRP embodied that value. The termination of NQRP effectively denies the most vulnerable individuals in immigration proceedings — those unable to represent themselves due to mental competency concerns — their opportunity at navigating our complex immigration system.”
Contact:
Erin Barnaby, 202-360-4248, media@amicacenter.org
Tara Tidwell Cullen, (312) 833-2967, ttidwellcullen@immigrantjustice.org
ILCM Communications Department, communications@ilcm.org
Oliver Bernstein, American Gateways, Oliver@SteadyHandPR.com