Government ordered to resume deportation protection program for vulnerable immigrant youth
Source: ABC News/AP
November 20, 2025, 7:05 PM
McALLEN, Texas -- A federal judge issued an order Wednesday requiring the Trump administration to again consider granting protection from deportation to certain vulnerable young immigrants.
U.S. District Judge Eric Komitee ordered U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to again consider granting deportation protection under a 2022 program the agency rescinded in June. The decision will allow the program to continue while the lawsuit brought by plaintiffs in July continues.
Children and youth affected are those who have been abused, neglected, or abandoned by a parent and given Special Immigrant Juvenile status through a state court and the federal government. SIJS, as it's known, was created through congressional bipartisan support in 1990, and though it does not it grant legal status, it lets qualifying young people apply for a visa to become legal permanent residents and obtain a work permit.
It can take years for a visa to become available due to annual caps. Under the Biden administration, USCIS could consider shielding designees from deportation while waiting for a visa. Without the deferred action program, young people do not qualify for a work permit, face deportation and would no longer be eligible to become legal permanent residents if they're returned to their country of origin.
Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/government-ordered-resume-deportation-protection-program-vulnerable-immigrant-127732570
Link to ORDER (PDF viewer) - https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26288600-govuscourtsnyed533950600-1/
Link to ORDER (PDF) - https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/26288600/govuscourtsnyed533950600-1.pdf
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