Legal services providers representing thousands of immigrant children celebrated a federal court’s ruling granting a temporary restraining order (TRO) that will help prevent the government from fast-tracking the deportation of unaccompanied children while the case continues. The order, which is in place for 14 days, requires the government to reinstate its longstanding policy of providing unaccompanied children at least 21 days’ notice before an asylum interview and to allow children and their attorneys to reschedule interviews when necessary.
Attorneys and plaintiff organizations said in a joint statement: “Children must be protected from the government’s cruel attempts to put them on a deportation assembly line. This order restores basic procedural protections for immigrant children navigating the asylum process without a parent or caregiver—an opportunity to meet with an attorney, develop a claim for asylum, and fully present that claim to an asylum officer with an attorney by their side. We are heartened that a judge granted this important measure of relief, and we will continue defending the rights of unaccompanied children seeking safety in the United States.”
The lawsuit, filed on October 15, challenges the government’s attempts to rush the asylum proceedings of unaccompanied children in violation of their rights and longstanding child protection laws passed by Congress.
The plaintiffs in the case include the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights (Amica Center), The Door, Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project (FIRRP), Galveston-Houston Immigrant Representation Project (GHIRP), Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef), and Jewish Family and Community Services (JFCS) Pittsburgh. The plaintiffs are represented by the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies (CGRS), the National Center for Youth Law (NCYL), the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), and Trial Impact Project.
The defendants in the lawsuit are Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Joseph Edlow; U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin; Acting Director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review Sirce Owen; Attorney General Todd Blanche; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; the Department of Homeland Security; the Executive Office for Immigration Review; and the Department of Justice.
Read the order along with the original case filing and the motion for a TRO.