More than 24,000 unaccompanied migrant children nationwide, including over 1,400 in New York state and 700 in New York City, face losing legal representation as a $200 million federal contract with the Acacia Center for Justice expires. The Office of Refugee Resettlement said it offered the Acacia Center a chance to extend the agreement, but the two sides could not agree on terms. During summer deportation hearings in Lower Manhattan, hundreds of unaccompanied minors, some as young as 3, appeared in proceedings without legal counsel despite federal regulations requiring representation. Judge Lisa W. Ling, a former ICE prosecutor, proceeded with hearings and questioned unrepresented children, prompting advocates to warn of due process violations; the Trump administration had previously canceled funding for the program in March before a federal judge ordered it restored in April.