The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) is one of only a few technical assistance organizations nationally and in California with expertise on immigrant youth, including unaccompanied minor (UAC) issues. Undocumented immigrant children are an extremely vulnerable population, especially when they enter foster care, removal proceedings, and/or the juvenile justice system. The ILRC works to expand the rights of these immigrant children through policy and advocacy efforts, numerous in-person and webinar trainings, and case-specific assistance. We also write one of the only national publications addressing immigrant youth issues entitled, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and Other Immigration Options for Children & Youth.
Many immigrant youth in the United States may be eligible to apply for lawful immigration status. One of the most common immigration options for immigrant youth is special immigrant juvenile status (SIJS), which is a pathway to a green card for immigrant children who have been abused, abandoned, or neglected by one or both of their parents. Other common forms of relief for children include U visas (for children who were victims of crimes), relief under the Violence Against Women Act (for children who were abused by a U.S. citizen or permanent resident parent or spouse), and asylum (for children who are afraid of returning to their home country).
Latest Resources
Public Comments / Sign-on Letters
Resources
Publication Date
12/16/2024
On November 25, 2024, the ILRC submitted a comment on the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s (ORR) changes to various legal advocacy forms for children in ORR custody.
Public Comments / Sign-on Letters
Resources
Publication Date
12/16/2024
On October 15, 2024, the ILRC submitted a comment on the proposed changes to Form I-360, encouraging USCIS to increase the accessibility of the form for pro se respondents, including Special Immigrant Juvenile Status Applicants and VAWA self-petitioners.
Practice Advisory
Practice Advisory
Resources
Publication Date
11/15/2024
Under current USCIS regulations, any person under 21 years of age who otherwise meets the eligibility requirements may be granted SIJS. This practice alert addresses many of the unsuccessful arguments that USCIS has not accepted when a petition received by USCIS after the youth turns 21. In rare cases, USCIS has accepted petitions received after the petitioner’s 21st birthday when there is proof that the petition was improperly rejected or receipted by USCIS before the deadline. This practice alert primarily focuses on USCIS Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) decisions and limited federal court cases to highlight successful and unsuccessful arguments when the SIJS petition is filed on or after the youth’s 21st birthday.
FAQs & Explainers
Resources
Publication Date
11/14/2024
While U.S. immigration laws provide certain special protections to children migrating without a parent or legal guardian on account of their vulnerabilities, these laws and policies fall short of both domestic and international child welfare principles. Those impacted by and involved with U.S. systems for responding to child migrants have known for years that they do not meet the needs of most children. This resource aims to demonstrate that a different approach to how the United States welcomes migrant children, particularly as relates to their time in government custody/detention, is not just possible but necessary.
Practice Advisory
Resources
Publication Date
09/12/2024
The advisory provides information and updates on various parole programs including Uniting for Ukraine, Operation Allies Welcome, CHNV Parole, Family Reunification Parole, CAM Parole, and Parole in Place.
Public Comments / Sign-on Letters
Resources
Publication Date
08/12/2024
On August 12, ILRC provided feedback to USCIS on recent changes made to the acquisition of citizenship portion of the USCIS policy manual. ILRC commended the agency for providing clarity in some of the sections and provided suggested language that should be incorporated into the policy manual to ensure that all eligible applicants – including those who were previously denied and are now eligible due to changes to USCIS policy – are able to access the process now and obtain proof of their acquired citizenship.
FAQs & Explainers
Resources
Publication Date
07/17/2024
New for 2024: Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) may still be in a holding pattern due to ongoing lawsuits in federal court, but the program remains active for those seeking to renew their employment authorization. This brief explainer details the 5 key things to be aware of if you are a DACA recipient.
FAQs & Explainers
Resources
Publication Date
07/17/2024
The U.S. immigration system treats children and young people differently than adults. It is important to understand how your age may impact your options for seeking relief or protection against deportation. This Community Explainer highlights how age impacts eligibility for certain forms of immigration relief, how immigrant youth can help themselves and their family members, and how to learn more.
Practice Advisory
Resources
Publication Date
04/26/2024
This updated guidance, written with our partners Immigrant Legal Defense (ILD), International Rescue Committee (IRC), and Legal Services for Children (LSC), includes recommendations for what information to include in state court predicate orders for special immigrant juvenile status (SIJS) in California. It incorporates guidance from the 2022 SIJS regulations as well as the USCIS Policy Manual, and includes helpful citations to California law. It also includes sample predicate orders from family, probate, dependency, and delinquency courts.
FAQs & Explainers
Resources
Publication Date
04/18/2024
This resource - created in partnership with the End SIJS Backlog Coalition, CILA, and NIPNLG - addresses common questions and myths about the visa bulletin, how to talk to clients about the SIJS backlog, and how both advocates and directly impacted young people can get involved in the Coalition’s work to end the backlog and its harms.
Related Products
Webinar
Webinar
We will review how the CSPA protects certain family-based beneficiaries of immigrant visa petitions and how to calculate the CSPA age. We will also review when the Visa Bulletin is involved, and when and how visa regression affects the CSPA age. Finally, we will touch on the rules regarding recapturing priority dates, discuss strategies for clients in danger of “aging out” who may not be protected by CSPA, and address a recent USCIS policy update pertaining to CSPA.
Webinar
Webinar
This webinar will provide an introduction to special immigrant juvenile status (SIJS) - a unique path to immigration status for young people under the age of 21. We will provide an overview of the legal requirements and process of seeking SIJS and SIJS-based adjustment of status, all the way from state juvenile court to adjustment of status.
Webinar
Webinar
Level: Intermediate
Eligibility for special immigrant juvenile status (SIJS) requires the involvement of a state juvenile court. This webinar will go over what needs to be included in a successful SIJS state court predicate order, looking at guidance contained in the USCIS Policy Manual and the new SIJS regulations. We will then take a more detailed look at successful state court orders in both California and Texas as a way to see this guidance in action.
Presenters
Rachel Prandini - Staff Attorney, ILRC
Rachel is one of ILRC’s staff attorneys based in San Francisco. Rachel focuses on immigrant youth issues, including unaccompanied minors and immigrant youth in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems. Rachel provides technical assistance and trainings to immigration and state court attorneys, social workers, and judges. She works on statewide and national policy that affects the rights of immigrant youth and is frequently consulted for her expertise in Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. Rachel co-authored the ILRC’s publication Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and Other Immigration Options for Children and Youth.
Prior to joining the ILRC, Rachel represented detained and released unaccompanied minors in removal defense and led a project focusing on Special Immigrant Juvenile Status at Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project in Los Angeles. While at Esperanza, Rachel also performed "Know Your Rights" work in southern California immigration detention centers for minors. Previously, Rachel worked as an associate at Paul Hastings, LLP and volunteered as a Child Advocate for unaccompanied minors.
Rachel earned her law degree from the University of California at Davis, where she was a member of the Immigration Law Clinic and worked on complex deportation defense cases and detention issues. She received her undergraduate degree from Westmont College, where she double-majored in philosophy and political science. Rachel is admitted to the bar in California. She is conversant in Spanish.
Dalia Castillo-Granados - Co-Founder and Director, Children’s Immigration Law Academy (CILA)
Dalia Castillo-Granados is the co-founder and director of the Children’s Immigration Law Academy (CILA), a project of the American Bar Association (ABA) Commission on Immigration. Dalia is a frequent speaker on Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) and led the effort at the ABA to advocate for deferred action for SIJS youth stuck in the visa backlog. Prior to working at CILA, Dalia was a senior attorney at Kids in Need of Defense, a staff attorney at Tahirih Justice Center, a clinical supervising attorney at the University of Houston’s Immigration Clinic, and a Greenberg Traurig, LLP Equal Justice Works fellow at Catholic Charities’ Cabrini Center. Throughout her career, Dalia has represented hundreds of children in their immigration proceedings and before Texas state courts.
Eligibility for special immigrant juvenile status (SIJS) requires the involvement of a state juvenile court. This webinar will go over what needs to be included in a successful SIJS state court predicate order, looking at guidance contained in the USCIS Policy Manual and the new SIJS regulations. We will then take a more detailed look at successful state court orders in both California and Texas as a way to see this guidance in action.
Presenters
Rachel Prandini - Staff Attorney, ILRC
Rachel is one of ILRC’s staff attorneys based in San Francisco. Rachel focuses on immigrant youth issues, including unaccompanied minors and immigrant youth in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems. Rachel provides technical assistance and trainings to immigration and state court attorneys, social workers, and judges. She works on statewide and national policy that affects the rights of immigrant youth and is frequently consulted for her expertise in Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. Rachel co-authored the ILRC’s publication Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and Other Immigration Options for Children and Youth.
Prior to joining the ILRC, Rachel represented detained and released unaccompanied minors in removal defense and led a project focusing on Special Immigrant Juvenile Status at Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project in Los Angeles. While at Esperanza, Rachel also performed "Know Your Rights" work in southern California immigration detention centers for minors. Previously, Rachel worked as an associate at Paul Hastings, LLP and volunteered as a Child Advocate for unaccompanied minors.
Rachel earned her law degree from the University of California at Davis, where she was a member of the Immigration Law Clinic and worked on complex deportation defense cases and detention issues. She received her undergraduate degree from Westmont College, where she double-majored in philosophy and political science. Rachel is admitted to the bar in California. She is conversant in Spanish.
Dalia Castillo-Granados - Co-Founder and Director, Children’s Immigration Law Academy (CILA)
Dalia Castillo-Granados is the co-founder and director of the Children’s Immigration Law Academy (CILA), a project of the American Bar Association (ABA) Commission on Immigration. Dalia is a frequent speaker on Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) and led the effort at the ABA to advocate for deferred action for SIJS youth stuck in the visa backlog. Prior to working at CILA, Dalia was a senior attorney at Kids in Need of Defense, a staff attorney at Tahirih Justice Center, a clinical supervising attorney at the University of Houston’s Immigration Clinic, and a Greenberg Traurig, LLP Equal Justice Works fellow at Catholic Charities’ Cabrini Center. Throughout her career, Dalia has represented hundreds of children in their immigration proceedings and before Texas state courts.
Webinar
Webinar
Level: BeginnerThis webinar will help advocates understand how the immigration detention and deportation system works for unaccompanied children (UCs), whether they migrated alone or with a parent or other family member and were later separated. It will help demystify the maze of immigration policies and procedures that apply specifically to UCs, including a discussion of which children are classified as UCs, the federal agencies that interact with UCs, the detention and release process for UCs, and updates on how the Biden Administration has responded to increased numbers of UCs.PresentersRachel Prandini, Staff Attorney - ILRCRachel is one of ILRC’s staff attorneys based in San Francisco. Rachel focuses on immigrant youth issues, including unaccompanied minors and immigrant youth in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems. Rachel provides technical assistance and trainings to immigration and state court attorneys, social workers, and judges. She works on statewide and national policy that affects the rights of immigrant youth and is frequently consulted for her expertise in Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. Rachel co-authored the ILRC’s publication Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and Other Immigration Options for Children and Youth.
Webinar
Webinar
Level: IntermediateThis webinar will discuss FOIA requests in immigration cases and provide tips for filing FOIA requests with DHS, including USCIS, OBIM, ICE and CBP. Researching clients’ case histories may become particularly important if any of the proposed legalization bills are enacted.
Publication
Publication
Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and Other Immigration Options for Children and Youth is an essential guide for those representing the increased number of unaccompanied minors who have migrated to the United States in recent years, as well as those representing immigrant youth who were brought to the United States at a young age and know no other home. Immigrant children and youth may be eligible for many types of immigration relief, including some available only to children.