A group of immigrant youths filed a class-action lawsuit on Thursday against the Trump Administration, challenging the termination of a key immigration policy that had shielded them from deportation and allowed them to work legally in the United States.
The plaintiffs, all recipients of Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), argue that the administration unlawfully reversed a 2022 policy that had granted them deferred action—an immigration protection that prevents deportation while they await permanent residency.
SIJS is a legal classification for immigrants under the age of 21 who have suffered abuse, neglect, or abandonment by one or both parents. While the status provides a path to legal residency, a limited number of green cards and severe processing backlogs often leave recipients in limbo for years. To ease this burden, the Biden-era policy had granted automatic deferred action to SIJS holders, giving them temporary legal protection and eligibility to work.
However, since April, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) quietly stopped processing work permits for SIJS recipients and later issued a formal alert stating that deferred action would no longer be granted. The lawsuit, filed by a coalition of impacted youth alongside advocacy organizations including the Central American Refugee Center and Centro Legal de la Raza, calls for the reinstatement of the 2022 policy.
“These young people have a lawful path to permanent residency created by Congress,” said John Magliery, a partner at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, the law firm representing the plaintiffs. “Without deferred action, they are left in legal and financial limbo, unable to support themselves and vulnerable to deportation.”
More than 100,000 SIJS recipients are currently waiting for green cards, according to the End SIJS Backlog Coalition. Recipients hail from over 150 countries and reside in every U.S. state, with the highest concentrations in New York, California, and Maryland. Many of them, attorneys say, have grown up in the U.S. and dream of becoming professionals—astronauts, lawyers, and healthcare workers—but now fear being forced to leave the only home they know.
USCIS has declined to comment on the pending litigation. But the policy shift has sparked concern in Congress, with 19 lawmakers sending a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem last month demanding clarity on the change and warning of reported increases in the detention and deportation of SIJS recipients.
“This is not just a paperwork issue—it’s about the safety and future of vulnerable youth who have already been through unimaginable hardship,” said Rachel Davidson, director of the End SIJS Backlog Coalition. “The government has acknowledged they cannot safely return to their countries. They deserve protection, not uncertainty.”
The lawsuit marks the latest legal battle over immigration policy under the Trump Administration, as advocates warn that stripping protections from already-approved SIJS holders risks further destabilising the lives of thousands of at-risk youths across the country.