The U.S. government significantly narrowed the options available for undocumented immigrant children to remain in the United States. A new administrative decision, part of the policy changes, stops immigration courts from delaying cases for immigrant children whose visa applications are still in process.
Details On The Board Ruling
One of the changes is a Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) ruling barring immigration judges from continuing a child’s case simply because a Special Immigrant Juvenile Status visa is still pending. The program gives immigrant children who have been abused, abandoned or neglected by a parent access to a green card. To obtain SIJS a child must get a state juvenile court to make specific findings about their situation. That order is separate from the visa itself, however, and demand for the SIJS visa classification has long outstripped supply. The Board cited the years-long backlog in the State Department’s visa issuance process and ruled that, moving forward, an approved SIJS petition does not automatically allow a child to pause their immigration case while they wait for a visa number to open up.
Politico reported that this shift cuts against a legal principle courts have long recognized: that children in immigration proceedings are especially vulnerable and deserve procedural protections that account for that vulnerability. Without the ability to pause a case, a child can face a removal order years before a visa would even become available.
What This Means
The decisions will have the practical effect of dramatically increasing the number of immigrant children who can be ordered removed by an immigration judge. Aside from SIJS, visas for victims of human trafficking and, in rare cases, family petitions from U.S. citizen or green card-holder relatives are about all they have. Asylum is also an option, if the child’s situation meets the criteria for protection.
Immigration advocates are reportedly already filing habeas corpus petitions on behalf of children who have been in Health and Human Services custody for months after immigration courts tossed their cases. The argument is that continued detention is now arbitrary since there is no longer any active immigration case.
As always, ILBSG actively monitors ongoing U.S. immigration news. If you have questions about any U.S. immigration related issue, contact us. Working with an experienced attorney ensures you get the right advice based on the most recent laws. In an ever-evolving immigration policy landscape, it’s particularly critical you get the right advice.