A federal judge in California has issued a nationwide injunction preventing the Trump administration from cutting taxpayer funding for legal representation provided to Unaccompanied Alien Children (UACs) facing deportation proceedings.

U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez Olguin, appointed to the bench by Joe Biden and serving in the Northern District of California, ruled that the government must continue using federal funds to provide attorneys for minors who arrive at the U.S. border without legal guardians.

Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin was literally born in Mexico. The judiciary is a hotbed of foreigners ruling tyrannically over the American people. https://t.co/Vr7vJjWwpM pic.twitter.com/JaCVgWcGuk

— Josiah Lippincott (@jlippincott_) April 2, 2025

The decision follows the Trump administration’s move to end the use of taxpayer dollars for these legal services.

The administration argued that Congress never mandated the funding and that the program—funded annually despite lacking statutory requirement—places an undue financial burden on the American public.

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In April, Judge Olguin issued a temporary halt to the administration’s order, stating that the program “promotes efficiency and fairness within the immigration system.” That temporary order has now been extended into a full injunction, applying nationwide.

The ruling comes amid controversy over Olguin’s previous employment.

Before her appointment to the bench, Olguin worked as a managing attorney at Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto, one of the lead plaintiffs in the case.

JUDICIAL COUP: Leftist Biden Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin, who spent most of her career as an open borders activist, just ordered @RealDonaldTrump to continue taxpayer funding for lawyers for illegal alien minors. Here is the judge's professional background: Professional…

— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) April 30, 2025

"JUDICIAL COUP: Leftist Biden Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin, who spent most of her career as an open borders activist, just ordered Donald Trump to continue taxpayer funding for lawyers for illegal alien minors.
Here is the judge's professional background:
Professional Career: Law clerk, Hon. David Briones, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, 2004-2006
Women's Rights Project, American Civil Liberties Union, New York City, 2006-2010; fellow, 2006-2008; staff attorney, 2008-2010
Staff attorney, Legal Aid at Work, San Francisco, California, 2010-2013 Lecturer, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, 2012, 2013, 2016
Senior staff attorney, Immigrants' Rights Project, American Civil Liberties Union, San Francisco, California, 2013-2015
Contract attorney, University of California, Irvine, School of Law (based in Oakland, California), 2015
Contract attorney, National Day Laborer Organizing Network, Pasadena, California (based in Oakland, California), 2015
Civil rights attorney, U.S. Department of Education, San Francisco, California, 2016-2017
Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto (based in San Francisco, California), 2017-2018; senior immigrants' rights attorney, 2017; managing attorney, Immigrants' Rights Project, 2018
National Immigration Law Center, Los Angeles, California (based in Oakland, California), 2018-2023; staff attorney, 2018-2020; supervising attorney, 2020-2023
Other Nominations/Recess Appointments:
Nominated to U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, August 1, 2022; no Senate vote
Miscellaneous Information:
On February 28, 2023, Vice President Kamala D. Harris voted yea to break a tie when the Senate voted 48-48 on confirmation of the nomination.

Attorneys for the Trump administration filed a motion seeking her removal from the case, citing a potential conflict of interest and “appearance of bias.”

That motion was ultimately denied, and the case proceeded under Olguin’s oversight.

More than 25,000 UACs currently benefit from taxpayer-funded legal services as they navigate the immigration court system.

While the law does not require the federal government to provide attorneys in immigration court—since those proceedings are civil, not criminal—Congress has repeatedly allocated funding for legal aid for minors through annual appropriations.

In court filings, the administration argued that ending the program would not violate any legal protections for minors, as existing law does not entitle individuals in removal proceedings to government-appointed attorneys.

They also highlighted the cost to taxpayers, pointing to billions in cumulative funding over the past decade for legal aid related to UAC cases.

The plaintiffs, represented by a coalition of immigrant legal service groups and advocacy organizations, argued that the removal of attorneys would violate due process protections under the Constitution and federal law.

Olguin’s decision keeps the program in place while the broader legal challenge moves forward.

The court’s injunction requires the continued allocation of federal resources to provide attorneys to unaccompanied minors throughout the country, regardless of immigration status or location.

The Department of Justice has not announced whether it will appeal the ruling.

A spokesperson said the administration is reviewing the decision and exploring its legal options.

The case now returns to the U.S. District Court for further proceedings, while opponents of the ruling have renewed criticism of judicial appointments and federal spending related to immigration policy.