Last updated: January 7, 2025
IMPORTANT UPDATE: FINAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT APPROVED; CUT-OFF FOR CLASS MEMBERSHIP IS FEBRUARY 24, 2025
On November 25, 2024 the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland granted final approval of the reached by the parties in J.O.P. v. DHS, No. 8:19-CV-01944-SAG (D. Md.). On the same day, the J.O.P. settlement agreement took effect, starting a 90-day window for certain noncitizens with prior unaccompanied child (UC) determinations to file their asylum applications with USCIS in order to become J.O.P. class members. To become a J.O.P. class member, eligible individuals must file their asylum applications with USCIS by Monday, February 24, 2025. You can read the final class notice in English here. Puede ver el aviso final de demanda colectiva en español aquí.
To learn more about the J.O.P. v. DHS settlement agreement, read our practice alert. To raise suspected violations of the settlement agreement with class counsel, please complete this form and email it to class counsel at: DG-JOPClassCounsel@goodwinlaw.com. Para notificar a los Abogados de la Clase sobre presuntas violaciones del Acuerdo, por favor llene este formulario y envíelo a los Abogados de la Clase a: DG-JOPClassCounsel@goodwinlaw.com.
NEWS RE J.O.P. v. DHS: NOTICE OF CLASS COUNSEL’S MOTION FOR ATTORNEYS’ FEES
Counsel to the plaintiff class in J.O.P. v. DHS filed a motion for attorneys’ fees and expenses on December 24, 2024. The motion asks the court to order the Defendants to pay fees and expenses for some of the work done by class counsel since 2019. You can read the Notice about class counsel’s motion for fees in English here. Puede leer el aviso sobre la petición para una adjudicación de honorarios de abogados en español aquí. You can review the full motion for attorneys’ fees with exhibits here. J.O.P. class members have until February 18, 2025 to file written objections to the motion for attorneys’ fees.
Background on J.O.P. v. DHS
J.O.P. v. DHS, No. 19-1944, was a nationwide class action filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland to challenge a 2019 policy that limited the ability to seek asylum for certain children who arrived in the country alone. Kids In Need of Defense (KIND), along with The National Immigration Project, Public Counsel, Bet Tzedek Legal Services, and Goodwin Procter represented the certified class and the named plaintiffs, who came to the United States as unaccompanied children and whose asylum applications would have been rejected by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services under the challenged 2019 policy. The lawsuit alleged that the challenged policy violated the Fifth Amendment, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the 2008 Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act. The court certified a nationwide class and entered an expanded preliminary injunction in December 2020, and in 2024 granted final approval of a class-wide settlement agreement.