When the Texas Civil Rights Project needed lawyers to help dozens of people arrested during U.S. President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, legal director Dustin Rynders turned to a familiar strategy. He contacted major law firms that for decades had provided free legal services to nonprofits like his.

On that April day in Houston, he called his usual contacts, many at firms that had previously handled challenges to Trump’s immigration policies. Before Trump’s return to the White House, they typically offered swift “pro bono,” or free, legal help – a standard public service provided by elite U.S. firms.

This time, they all declined. “We are just handling the cases ourselves at this point,” Rynders said.

Months later, the aftershocks threaten lasting damage to America’s tradition of mobilizing free lawyers to challenge government actions on behalf of the vulnerable.