SIJS holders detained and removed
Reporting shows ICE detained and deported 132 immigrant youths with Special Immigrant Juvenile Status protections last year — a striking mismatch between humanitarian designations and enforcement outcomes. The numbers raise immediate questions about agency safeguards for vulnerable youth and the consistency of SIJS enforcement. (nbcnews.com)
Senators and House members led by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto sent a June 5, 2025 letter asking DHS and USCIS to explain changes to SIJS deferred-action adjudications and to provide records covering actions "since January 20, 2025." (cortezmasto.senate.gov(cortezmasto.senate.gov)) USCIS issued a Policy Alert on June 6, 2025 that rescinded the 2022 practice of automatically considering deferred action and related employment authorization for SIJS beneficiaries who cannot apply for adjustment of status due to visa unavailability. (iptp-production.s3.amazonaws.com(iptp-production.s3.amazonaws.com)) Advocates filed a nationwide class action, A.C.R. v. Noem, on July 17, 2025 challenging USCIS’s June rescission, and a federal judge in the Eastern District of New York issued a partial stay on November 19, 2025 restoring the 2022 deferred-action consideration while litigation proceeds. (nipnlg.org(nipnlg.org)) Civil-society analyses estimate the SIJS green-card backlog at scale: a Tulane/End SIJS Backlog Coalition report documented more than 100,000 young people waiting for adjustment in earlier reporting, while practitioner groups and practice alerts have cited estimates approaching 150,000–200,000 affected youth. (nbcnews.com(nbcnews.com)) (nipnlg.org(nipnlg.org)) Legislative responses include the Protect Vulnerable Immigrant Youth Act (H.R.3763/S.1965), reintroduced in June 2025, which would exempt SIJS-based visas from employment-based (EB-4) numerical caps to remove the statutory source of years-long visa waits. (congress.gov(congress.gov)) Lawmakers’ correspondence and advocacy notes have specifically flagged enforcement practices — including claims that ICE custody can lead to termination of deferred-action protections for SIJS beneficiaries — prompting congressional oversight requests and public statements from groups such as the End SIJS Backlog Coalition and Kids in Need of Defense. (nbcnews.com(nbcnews.com)) (supportkind.org(supportkind.org))
