July 28, 2025
Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) submitted feedback in response to recent changes to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service’s (USCIS) Policy Manual and a related Policy Alert published on June 6, 2025, pertaining to deferred action for Special Immigrant Juveniles. KIND is deeply concerned that these changes, will eviscerate critical protection against removal to harm for thousands of children and youth to whom USCIS has granted Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS). Consequently, children and youth recognized by USCIS and state courts as having experienced abuse, abandonment, neglect, or other similar harm such that return to their country of origin is not in the child’s best interest could be deported by the Department of Homeland Security as they await visas—risking the very outcomes that Congress enacted specific protections to prevent. The changes would also eliminate access to and renewal of work authorization for thousands of SIJS recipients–impeding access to safe and lawful employment opportunities for eligible youth that can reduce vulnerability to labor exploitation and trafficking, while also eliminating a vital form of government-issued identification that is often necessary for children and youth to access essential services, including medical care.
Although the Policy Alert characterizes this change as necessary to “closely align agency policies and procedures with statutory requirements and authorities,” it instead actively undermines SIJ protection– exposing young people to re-traumatization and harm, disregarding congressional intent and the public interest, and creating inefficiencies, uncertainty, and confusion for children, federal agencies, and state courts. The rescission of the SIJ Deferred Action policy is especially alarming amid the Administration’s efforts to dramatically expand immigration enforcement and rapid deportations nationwide, including of children and youth, and to implement a range of measures that restrict access to due process, legal services, and humanitarian protection for unaccompanied children and other vulnerable populations. Contrary to the Administration’s broader goals of combatting trafficking, exploitation, and other harm to children, the abrupt rescission of SIJ deferred action only increases the likelihood of such dangers. We urge USCIS to immediately restore the SIJ deferred action policy for current and future SIJ recipients to give full effect to Congress’s intent and the SIJ statute and to prevent grave harm to thousands of children and youth.
