Just days after President Donald Trump’s second inauguration, Ruby Robinson went to Detroit’s immigration court to post a notice that a help desk his organization ran for people facing deportation was no longer available.
The desk staffed by the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center shut down after a Trump executive order prompted the Justice Department to instruct nonprofit organizations “to stop work immediately” on four federally funded programs that provided information to people in immigration proceedings.
“There were individuals in the waiting room who we otherwise would have been able to assist, but we’re not able to do so at this time,” said Robinson, managing attorney for the center, which he said has helped about 10,000 people since it began operating the help desk in December 2021.
Without the programs that educate people in immigration courts and detention centers about their rights and the complicated legal process, many will end up navigating the system on their own. Advocates worry that due process and the backlogged immigration courts will suffer as Trump tries to make good on his campaign promise to crack down on illegal immigration.