Feds to spend $9 million for attorneys to illegal border children

The Obama administration will pay $9 million over the next two years to give taxpayer-funded attorneys to some of the illegal immigrant children who have surged across the U.S. border this year, the Health and Human Services Department said Tuesday.

About 2,600 immigrants will be able to be represented by lawyers thanks to the funds, which were awarded in two grants to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, according to a notice to be published in the Federal Register on Thursday.

Advocates cheered the decision, which they'd been demanding for months, saying it will not only help the children get a fair hearing on asylum claims, but it will also make the court proceedings go faster, which will end up saving the government money.

But administration critics in Congress said the move could violate federal law and will most likely prolong illegal immigrants' time in the U.S., encouraging more children to make the dangerous crossing.

"To end the surge at the border, the Obama administration should instead focus its efforts on deterring future border crossers and enforcing the laws against illegal entry into the United States," said House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, Virginia Republican. "Without such actions, the flood of people attempting to cross the border illegally will only continue."

The administration's move marks another effort to circumvent Congress.