Approximately 20,000 unaccompanied migrant children nationwide, including 1,300 in New York, face deportation without legal representation as a $356 million federal contract for legal services expires. During summer deportation hearings in Lower Manhattan, hundreds of unaccompanied minors, some as young as 3 years old, appeared in proceedings lacking legal counsel despite federal regulations requiring representation. Judge Lisa W. Ling, a former ICE prosecutor, proceeded with hearings and questioned unrepresented children, prompting child advocates to warn of due process violations. Immigrant advocates caution that the contract's expiration will result in increased deportations without legal representation.