🔒Fighting for immigrants: Attorneys are combating cuts, shifting policies, and burnout as demand rises in the second Trump Administration

When President Donald Trump won the presidential election for the second time in November 2024, Jessica Pelletier became barred in federal district court. An attorney and director of the Immigration Legal Assistance Program at Ascentria Community Services in Worcester, Pelletier suspected that Trump’s crackdown on immigration would mean she would need to represent her clients in federal court sooner or later.

That day came on Sept. 24. One of Pelletier’s clients was driving to work when he was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. The young man, who was legally employed through a work authorization document card and did not have a removal order, had been in the states since he was a minor. “This person did not have a criminal record in this or any other country. He did not have any driving offenses. He was not driving erratically,” said Pelletier. Pelletier and her team moved swiftly. That same day they asked the federal court to keep their client from being removed from the area and be given an opportunity for a bond hearing. Both requests were granted. The client was released from ICE custody on Oct. 21 and is now involved in an ongoing open removal case. Unfortunately, Ascentria’s client was in the minority, in that he had legal representation at all. The vast majority of those in removal proceedings don’t have an attorney, said Lilian Chukwurah, an immigration lawyer and owner of Lilly Legal in Worcester. While estimates range depending on case type and location, only about 30% to 40% of immigrants have attorneys. That figure drops to just 14% for detained immigrants, according to the American Immigration Council, a nonprofit out of Washington, D.C. “It's hard to win an asylum case as an attorney. It’s nearly impossible to win it by yourself,” said Chukwurah. Across Central Massachusetts, demand has risen for legal representation in asylum and removal proceedings, putting strain on the region’s limited resource pool of attorneys who are themselves facing burnout as they attempt to keep pace with Trump’s rotating door of policy changes. “The first Trump administration was very hectic,” said Chukwurah. “This is much worse.”

Funding cuts

About half of the clients at Central West Justice Center in Worcester are in removal proceedings, said Ellen VanScoyoc, senior supervising attorney for the CWJC Immigration Law Unit. CWJC has seen many people detained over the past year who normally would not have been priorities for detention, but who are now in need of representation before ICE. “That's, I would say, the number one area of increase,” she said. In detention proceedings, VanScoyoc and her team are working to represent a myriad of client needs, from seeking bond, to challenging the legality of their detentions, to those applying for asylum due to persecution in their home countries.

Central Massachusetts is seeing an influx in need for representation for those seeking temporary protected status, said Chukwurah. TPS is a designation afforded to countries allowing their nationals to stay in the U.S. temporarily because a safe return is not deemed possible by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. This year, the Trump Administration terminated a number of TPS designations, including those for Venezuela, Afghanistan, and Haiti, leaving thousands vulnerable to removal proceedings. Others, who had previously had their removal proceedings terminated because they received TPS status, are now seeing their cases reopened, said Chukwurah. “Now people are trying to get screenings to see if they qualify for any other form of legal status, like asylum,” said Pelletier. The Trump Administration has been making changes to immigration policies, such as TPS designations, on a weekly basis, said VanScoyoc. “There are changes happening every week to immigration law and policy,” she said. “In the time that I've been practicing immigration law, which is since 2008, I have not seen a time of such rapid change before.” For example, on Oct. 30, the Trump Administration said it would cap refugee admissions to the states at 7,500 in fiscal year 2026, primarily saving spaces for white South Africans, representing a 94% cut from the Biden Administration, according to NPR. On Sept. 19, the Trump Administration announced employers would have to fork over a $100,000 fee for new H-1B visa petitions, up from about $7,000. In July, new fees were implemented for a number of immigration-related form submissions and applications, running up to $550. “It's like every Friday, we're just waiting for whatever shoe to drop,” said Chukwurah. “I'm seeing more immigration attorney burnout, especially those that do removal.”

Collaborating in crisis

In an effort to meet the growing demand for services, CWJC is adding a new immigration attorney, and Ascentria is hiring a new paralegal and support staff. Simply hiring more help isn’t as easy as it may seem. Funding is a constant, lingering concern that was an issue before Trump became president again. Funding for CWJC has remained fairly stable over the past year, said Jonathan Mannina, executive director of Community Legal Aid, of which CWJC is an affiliate. Still, about 15% of Community Legal Aid’s funding comes from federal sources and are at great risk, Mannina said. The funding situation for Ascentria has been more volatile. “Right now, we are limited in the type of cases that we can accept representation of due to federal funding restrictions, and due to our own capacity issues,” said Pelletier. In June 2024, Ascentria had to close its Springfield immigration office after losing a grant through the state aimed at supporting Afghan immigrants. In December, the organization had to lay off an attorney and a paralegal after Ascentria was not awarded a renewal of its human trafficking grant. That same month, Ascentria had to close its low bono program due to lack of funding. Earlier this year, the organization temporarily lost its largest funding source, as a $1-million contract to support unaccompanied children, managed through Acacia Center for Justice, was cancelled by the federal government. The contract has since been restored, but the waters are far from clear. Luckily, Ascentria has foundational funders whose donations have helped keep the organization’s immigration legal services afloat. “[They] have helped us keep the lights on and allowed us to continue serving our clients,” said Pelletier. Ascentria has turned to other organizations for collaboration and resources as the entire region and state have felt the tangible strains of increased demand for services. The nonprofit has teamed up with Boston-based organizations, including Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition, the Political Asylum / Immigration Representation Project, and the Habeas Project of Massachusetts, to provide representation for clients and host free informational clinics. CWJC works closely with Worcester organizations to provide services, such as emergency food assistance, and Chukwurah said more attorneys are reaching out to each other to stay up to date on policy changes throughout the nation. “What gives me hope is seeing all of the organizations come together to support each other,” said Pelletier. Still, she worries about her staff and the stress they go through representing their clients. She worries about grant renewals and continued human rights violations. “I worry about people that just want to be safe and contribute to their society,” she said. Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.