IMPORTANT UPDATE: SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT SET TO TERMINATE ON MAY 27, 2026; MOTION TO EXTEND TERMINATION DATE PENDING WITH THE COURT
Last updated: April 13, 2026
On November 25, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland granted final approval of the settlement agreement reached by the parties in J.O.P. v. DHS, No. 8:19-CV-01944-SAG (D. Md.). To be a J.O.P. class member, an eligible individual must have filed their asylum application with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (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. The J.O.P. settlement agreement is set to terminate on May 27, 2026. On April 10, 2026, Class Counsel filed a motion to extend the termination date of the Settlement Agreement, but given the uncertain outcome of that motion, J.O.P. Class Members seeking a benefit under the Agreement (such as DHS’s non-opposition to a motion for administrative closure) should ensure that those benefits are sought and received before May 27, 2026.
To learn more about the J.O.P. v. DHS settlement agreement and the October 2025 USCIS implementing memo, visit the Resources section below.
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.
On April 23, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland granted Class Counsel’s Emergency Motion to Enforce the Settlement Agreement. The order prohibits DHS from removing any J.O.P. Class Member from the United States if they have not received an adjudication by USCIS on the merits of their asylum application. The order also requires Defendants to facilitate the return of one Class Member, “Cristian” (a pseudonym), who was removed in violation of the J.O.P. Settlement Agreement. The court explained its reasoning in an accompanying memorandum opinion, concluding that “removal from the United States of a Class Member . . . without a final determination on the merits by USCIS on the Class Member’s pending asylum application violates the Settlement Agreement.”
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.