President Donald Trump's Department of Justice (DOJ) ordered immigration rights groups to stop assisting detained undocumented citizens immediately.
Last week, the DOJ issued a stop-work order to organizations that receive federal funding and assist detained migrants. Michael Lukens, executive director of the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, told News4 this will further complicate the process for undocumented citizens.
"I think what a lot of Americans don't realize is it's not like on the criminal legal system where you get a free attorney. If you are an immigrant in detention, facing deportation, if you can't afford an attorney, you're going alone, and you may not speak the language. You probably don't know the intricacies of U.S. immigration law," Michael Lukens, executive director of the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, told News4.
Lukens shared that employees at the Amica Center would have continued working without pay to fulfill their mission, but the DOJ didn't allow them to return to the center or inform patrons of what was happening.
"This is going to just destroy due process in the system," Lukens warned.
The Amica Center along with several other advocacy groups are planning to file a federal lawsuit against the stop-work order in the coming weeks.
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