# Texas Asked to Defend Migrant Kids - It Has No Authority to Do It

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Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-raid-7569219/texas-asked-to-defend-migrant-kids-it-has-no-authority-to-do-it.md
Podcast: [The Raid](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-raid-7569219)
Published: 2026-07-10T10:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.pitaya.fm/
Audio file: https://stitcher.simplecastaudio.com/0b4eeace-be24-4a6a-aa05-8fb4211e27d3/episodes/e237e258-ce33-496d-9be8-3b395851256e/audio/128/default.mp3?aid=rss_feed&awCollectionId=0b4eeace-be24-4a6a-aa05-8fb4211e27d3&awEpisodeId=e237e258-ce33-496d-9be8-3b395851256e&feed=9qpQUasG
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Duration seconds: 551

## Resource

Every unaccompanied immigrant child facing deportation is legally entitled to a lawyer — it's the law, not a favor. But the federal contract funding that representation for over 20,000 children expires this month, and instead of an open replacement process, reporting from the Texas Tribune reveals a series of phone calls: the Trump administration quietly asking Texas's Attorney General's office, then the ten-person Texas Indigent Defense Commission, to take on the job — an agency with no experience, no funding, and no legal authority to do it. John Carlos Frey breaks down the facts. https://theraidpodcast.org/ https://www.texastribune.org/2026/07/03/trump-texas-doj-indigent-defense-unaccompanied-immigrant-children/ https://www.tpr.org/border-immigration/2026-07-06/trump-administration-asks-texas-for-help-providing-legal-services-to-immigrant-kids-facing-deportation https://www.sacurrent.com/news/texas-news/trump-administration-asks-texas-for-help-providing-legal-services-to-immigrant-kids-facing-deportation/

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## Transcript

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