A.C.R. v. Noem

Clients

• A.C.R. is a Special Immigrant Juvenile pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(27)(J). She resides in New York City, New York, with her older brother, whom a family court appointed as her guardian. She came to the United States in February 2024 from Guatemala when she was seventeen years old to escape parental maltreatment and neglect. She attends high school full time and expects to graduate from high school in 2026. She hopes someday to become an astronaut, but her lack of access to work authorization will frustrate her further education and progress toward this goal. USCIS approved Plaintiff A.C.R.’s Form I-360 petition for SIJS on May 1, 2025. USCIS did not consider A.C.R. for deferred action. A.C.R. filed a separate request to USCIS for deferred action via Form G-325A on June 3, 2025, but USCIS has not responded to that application.

• J.G.V. is a Special Immigrant Juvenile pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(27)(J). He resides in Southern California. He came to the United States in the spring of 2024 from Mexico when he was seventeen years old to escape parental maltreatment. U.S. government authorities placed him in a foster home. He has lived in a foster home in California for about a year and attends high school full time. He expects to graduate from high school in 2026, and his dream is to pursue further education toward a career as a mechanic. USCIS approved Plaintiff J.G.V.’s Form I-360 petition for SIJS on April 7, 2025, but USCIS did not consider J.G.V. for deferred action. J.G.V. filed a separate request to USCIS for deferred action via Form G-325A on April 24, 2025, but USCIS has not responded to that application.

• E.A.R. is a Special Immigrant Juvenile pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(27)(J). He resides in Houston, Texas. He came to the United States from Honduras in the fall of 2024 when he was 17 years old due to parental neglect and abandonment. He lives with his aunt and extended family, and hopes for a career in construction. USCIS approved Plaintiff E.A.R.’s Form I-360 petition for SIJS on April 17, 2025, but USCIS did not consider E.A.R. for deferred action.

• C.V.R. is a Special Immigrant Juvenile pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(27)(J). He resides in Houston, Texas. He came to the United States in the fall of 2024 from Honduras when he was 17 years old to escape parental abuse, neglect, and abandonment. He lives with his aunt and extended family. USCIS approved Plaintiff C.V.R.’s Form I-360 petition for SIJS on April 18, 2025, but USCIS did not consider C.V.R. for deferred action.

• L.M.R. is a Special Immigrant Juvenile pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(27)(J). She resides in New York City, New York. She came to the United States in 2023 from Honduras when she was 17 years old to escape parental abuse, neglect, and abandonment. She lives in a foster home and attends high school. She hopes to finish high school and one day join the U.S. military. USCIS approved Plaintiff L.M.R.’s Form I-360 petition for SIJS on January 30, 2025, with a four-year grant of deferred action that expires on January 30, 2029. Plaintiff L.M.R. applied for work authorization based on her deferred action grant by filing Form I-765 with USCIS on March 5, 2025. Plaintiff L.M.R.’s work authorization application remains pending. As a result of the 2025 Policy Alert, USCIS no longer considers Plaintiff L.M.R. eligible for work authorization.

• S.M.M. is a Special Immigrant Juvenile pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(27)(J). He resides in Long Island, New York. He came to the United States in 2021 from Honduras when he was 15 years old to escape parental abuse. He lives with his uncle and recently graduated from high school. His dream is to become a doctor. USCIS approved Plaintiff S.M.M.’s Form I-360 petition for SIJS on January 9, 2025, with a four-year grant of deferred action that expires on January 9, 2029. Plaintiff S.M.M. applied for work authorization based on his deferred action grant by filing Form I-765 with USCIS on February 3, 2025. Plaintiff S.M.M.’s work authorization application remains pending. As a result of the 2025 Policy Alert, USCIS no longer considers Plaintiff S.M.M. eligible for work authorization.

• Y.A.M. is a Special Immigrant Juvenile pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(27)(J). She resides in Long Island, New York. She came to the United States from Honduras when she was about thirteen years old because she was abandoned by her father and had no one to protect her from violence in Honduras, where she was shot at, kidnapped, and assaulted. She now works as a school bus driver assistant and hopes to return to school to someday become a lawyer. She has a three-year-old son who relies on her for care and support. She has medical conditions and relies on her employer-provided health insurance to receive the care she needs. USCIS approved Plaintiff Y.A.M.’s SIJS deferred action on May 12, 2022, and it expires on May 12, 2026. She will not be able to renew her deferred action or work authorization because of USCIS’s rescission of the SIJS Deferred Action Policy.

• B.R.C. is a Special Immigrant Juvenile pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(27)(J). She resides in New York City, New York. She came to the United States from Honduras when she was about 14 years old years old because her father abandoned her and her mother neglected and abandoned her and there was no one who could care for her. She is currently studying to become a lab technician at a local community college and working at a salad store to pay her tuition. Her dream is to transfer to a four-year college and become either a dental hygienist or another medical professional. USCIS approved Plaintiff B.R.C.’s SIJS deferred action on October 27, 2022, and it expires on October 27, 2026. She will not be able to renew her deferred action or work authorization because of USCIS’s rescission of the SIJS Deferred Action Policy.

• J.C.B. is a Special Immigrant Juvenile pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(27)(J). He resides in Michigan. He came to the United States from Honduras when he was around 15 years old because his father passed away and his mother could not protect him from the physical abuse of his stepbrother. He was in long term foster care for a number of years. He graduated high school and is currently working in a factory that manufactures car parts. His dream is to go to college and become a mechanic. USCIS approved Plaintiff J.C.B’s SIJS deferred action on May 12, 2022, and it expires on May 12, 2026. He will not be able to renew his deferred action or work authorization because of USCIS’s rescission of the SIJS Deferred Action Policy.

• Central American Refugee Center (“CARECEN-NY”) is a Long Island-based nonprofit organization with offices in Hempstead, New York, and Brentwood, New York, whose mission is to empower immigrants in Long Island, New York, through legal services, community education, and advocacy. CARECEN-NY is the largest immigration legal services provider on Long Island. Its immigration practice aims to serve the needs of the most vulnerable immigrants in Long Island, including impoverished youth, victims of violent crime, those fleeing violence in their country of origin, and long-term undocumented residents. Since its founding in 1983, CARECEN-NY has assisted thousands of individuals with family and humanitarian immigration benefits as well as deportation defense cases; in 2024, CARECEN-NY provided legal representation to 1,773 clients and 486 legal consultations. Its Youth Immigration Project (YIP) was established in 2023 to address the particular needs of immigrant children and young adults through a specialized team of legal representatives.
  • CARECEN-NY’s social services team helps support its clients as they proceed through the immigration system and acclimate to the United States. Their services are critical for immigrant youth clients (in particular, unaccompanied minors) as they work towards financial stability and independence. CARECEN-NY’s social workers help them navigate school enrollment, requests for individualized education programs, school transfers, GED programs, college applications, job placement, financial aid services, health care enrollment, mental health referrals, connection to food pantries and, in dire situations, help advocate for victim services and locate housing through a scarce and difficult unhoused shelter system on Long Island. The social workers also provide support groups and individualized counseling.
  • Among its immigrant clients, CARECEN-NY represents approximately 80 individuals who have approved SIJS petitions. The overwhelming majority of these clients have been granted deferred action and hold work authorization based on deferred action. Because of the government’s abrupt rescission of the SIJS Deferred Action Policy, these young survivors of parental abuse, neglect, and abandonment will begin losing protection from deportation and work authorization as their deferred action grants expire. Fifteen of CARECEN-NY’s clients have currently pending applications for work authorization based on their deferred action grants. In the 2025 Policy Alert, USCIS stated that it will not adjudicate these applications, and the clients will not be allowed to work lawfully in the United States. Moreover, CARECEN-NY represents at least forty clients with currently pending SIJS petitions. Approximately forty more clients have begun the state court phase of the SIJS process. In accordance with the 2025 Policy Alert, if and when these clients’ SIJS petitions are granted in the future, they will not become eligible for deferred action or work authorization.

• Plaintiff Centro Legal de la Raza (“Centro Legal”) is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Oakland, California, whose mission is to protect and advance the rights of low- income individuals through legal representation, education, and advocacy. Centro Legal’s immigration practice aims to serve the needs of the most vulnerable immigrants, including impoverished youth, victims of violent crime, those fleeing violence in their country of origin, long-term undocumented residents, and monolingual Indigenous-language-speaking immigrants whose pressing need for interpretation Centro Legal has built the capacity to meet.
  • Among its immigrant clients, Centro Legal represents approximately 100 individuals with approved SIJS petitions. The overwhelming majority of these clients have been granted deferred action and hold work authorization based on deferred action. Because of the government’s abrupt rescission of the SIJS Deferred Action Policy, these young survivors of parental abuse, neglect, and abandonment will begin losing protection from deportation and work authorization as their deferred action grants expire.
  • Two of Centro Legal’s clients have currently pending applications for work authorization based on their deferred action grants, and Centro Legal is preparing three additional such applications for filing. In the 2025 Policy Alert, USCIS stated that it will not adjudicate these applications, and the clients will not be allowed to work lawfully in the United States. Moreover, Centro Legal represents at least four clients with currently pending SIJS petitions. In accordance with the 2025 Policy Alert, these clients will not become eligible for deferred action or work authorization.