One of Michigan's largest legal aid groups for immigrants lays off more than half its staff

Louis Aguilar, The Detroit News on Apr 14, 2025

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DETROIT — A Michigan nonprofit that provides legal services to roughly 800 unaccompanied immigrant children in the state, along with helping immigrants navigate deportation proceedings, has laid off more than half of its staff due to federal funding cuts.

The group, Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, said it laid off 72 staff members statewide Friday due to the termination of two contracts by the Trump administration, according to a Monday press release from the group. Prior to the layoffs, MIRC had 130 staffers.

The group — which has offices in Detroit, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo and Ypsilanti — said it will try to continue to represent as many as it can of the 800 children in immigration proceedings now, but that will leave children vulnerable to fast-track deportation.

Representatives from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services couldn't be reached Monday.

One of two contracts that has been terminated allowed MIRC to be the lawyers for migrant children who have entered the country without a parent or guardian. With its now pared-down staff, MIRC will complete as many "cases as possible," according to the press release. It added, though, it "will be unable to accept new children’s cases for the foreseeable future without additional resources."

“It breaks all of our hearts to now dismantle a team of advocates that has systematically won cases that affect the rest of our young clients' lives,” said MIRC Director Susan Reed, in the press statement.

The elimination of the contract leaves a $12 million funding gap that covered 80% of the Michigan center's 130 staffers.

The other contract that has been terminated funded its Immigration Court Helpdesk Program. The program has served more than 10,000 people since it began in late 2021 by helping unrepresented noncitizens in immigration legal proceedings understand their rights, the law and what they can expect in court.

The MIRC is a subcontractor of the Acacia Center for Justice, which held a contract with the federal government to provide legal services through its network of providers around the country. Acacia said it was informed in March that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was terminating nearly all the legal work that the center does.

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