CHICAGO — The Justice Department program that accredits nonprofit organizations to help provide legal aid to low-income immigrants has not approved any new applications since March. A month ago, the senior attorneys who operated the Recognition and Accreditation program were transferred without explanation to work in nearby immigration courts.

The Recognition and Accreditation program is part of the Justice Department's Executive Office for Immigration Review. It certifies non-attorneys who work for largely faith-based legal advocacy organizations such as Catholic Charities and Jewish Family Services so they are authorized to assist immigrants on everything from naturalization petitions to representation in immigration courts.

The reassigned lawyers were responsible for renewing and approving new applications for the program. The only two employees who were not transferred are support staff who do not have the legal authority to approve or deny applications. Since the reassignment took place, the office has continued to receive between 40 and 60 new applications per week. The Justice Department stated last month that the program was not being ended and would continue.

The Resurrection Project in Chicago, which has its own accredited representatives, trains other individuals to become accredited legal representatives and provides funding for legal aid to other groups statewide. The organization convened an emergency call with its state partners following the reassignment.

"This severely impacts our ecosystem and our ability to provide legal services," said Rocío Pulido, director for capacity building at the Resurrection Project. "In Illinois, we have a huge undocumented immigrant population and there's just such a demand for immigration legal services. And we can't meet that demand with attorneys alone," she said.

More than 330 nonprofits that participate in the accreditation program sent a letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Daren Margolin asking them to restore full functionality to the program. "In 2025, processing times had already stretched to 6 to 8 months due to understaffing. Now, the abrupt reassignment of all federal staff from the program has created setbacks for legal service providers and EOIR itself, as reported by CBS News," the groups wrote. "We urge you to act now to restore the R&A program to full operation," they added.