The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and a coalition of legal aid providers announced $1.8 million that will send approximately 100 lawyers and paralegals for two years to represent unaccompanied children seeking asylum in the United States.

The program will serve children in immigration courts located in Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, El Paso, Las Vegas, Miami, New York, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Diego and Seattle after the participating lawyers and paralegals attend an AmeriCorps national training program later this year.

The training will include immigration laws and regulations applicable to unaccompanied children; immigration proceedings practice and procedure; ethics for professionals working with children and youths; and trauma-informed and culturally-appropriate models of interacting with unaccompanied children.

According to The Huffington Post, since October of 2013 border agents have apprehended more than 66.000 children.

“These minors don't get any guarantee of legal counsel in immigration proceedings. Since immigration is a civil matter, there's no right to counsel, even for children,” Elise Foley said.

For more information about the justice AmeriCorps program please visit NationalService.gov