The current administration continues to implement policies that are detrimental to immigrants. You may have already read about some of them in the news, such as the new travel ban restricting the entry of nationals of 19 countries into the United States, or the rapid removal of noncitizens to countries where those immigrants have no ties.
But the administration is also implementing other policies that are less well known but can have a devastating impact on their targeted population. For example: as of early June, the USCIS is no longer granting deferred action (a temporary relief from deportation) to special immigrant juveniles, one of the most vulnerable demographics we serve.
Special Immigrant Juveniles (“SIJs”) are noncitizens under the age of 21 who were abused, neglected, or abandoned by one or both parents. Qualifying for SIJ status is complicated, because it requires obtaining an order from a state court judge and then filing a petition with the USCIS. After the USCIS grants the petition, the SIJ is on track for permanent resident status (the green card), but there are two problems. First, due to visa backlogs, SIJs must currently wait around 4 to 5 years before they are eligible to apply for the green card. Second, SIJ status does not, in and of itself, grant the juvenile permission to work or even protection from deportation.
Under previous administrations, the USCIS protected SIJs by granting them deferred action for a period of up to 4 years (during which the government will not take steps to deport the SIJ). In turn, deferred action recipients are eligible to apply for work authorization, which allowed SIJs to become self-sufficient while they wait patiently to become green card holders.
But under the new USCIS policy, SIJs are no longer being considered for deferred action, which prevents them (minor children or young adults who were abused, neglected, or abandoned by their parent(s)) from legally working and, worst of all, exposes them to removal.