For Immediate Release
June 5, 2025
Contact
media@nipnlg.org
Washington, D.C. — The End SIJS Backlog Coalition applauds U.S. Representatives Gomez (CA-34), Espaillat (NY-13), and Lofgren (CA-18) and Senator Cortez Masto (NV) for reintroducing the Protect Vulnerable Immigrant Youth Act today, a critical piece of legislation that addresses the urgent need for permanent protection of young immigrants who survived parental abuse, abandonment, or neglect and were granted Special Juvenile Status (SIJS). At the same time, the Coalition commends members of Congress for issuing an oversight letter demanding transparency and accountability from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on SIJS deferred action, which USCIS has suddenly and without explanation stopped issuing to SIJS youth. Deferred action offers protection while youth wait in the years-long backlog to obtain their green cards. Together, these actions from Congress mark a commitment from our leaders to protect and provide permanency for thousands of immigrant youth who remain in limbo despite having been found eligible for SIJS by USCIS.
“It is unconscionable that youth who have already been granted SIJS are trapped in a years-long limbo that endangers their lives,” said Rachel Davidson, Director of the End SIJS Backlog Coalition. “Right now we are seeing youth with approved SIJS ordered removed, detained, and deported. We are grateful to our congressional champions for reintroducing this critical legislation. We also applaud their actions to demand transparency and hold the Administration accountable for its attempt to quietly terminate protections SIJS youth depend on to survive.”
The Protect Vulnerable Immigrant Youth Act addresses a long-standing technical oversight that placed SIJS green card visas in the employment-based category, despite being a humanitarian protection, subjecting children to visa caps and years-long wait times before they can secure permanent protection. While Congress intended SIJS to provide a swift path to stability, the backlog has instead left thousands of youth at risk.
The urgent need for this legislation has only intensified following the troubling halt in deferred action adjudication that practitioners have reported since early April. In 2022, the SIJS Deferred Action policy was created to provide youth with a safeguard against deportation and access to work permits while they awaited visas to apply for green cards. However, without public notice, the administration has stopped adjudicating deferred action for SIJS recipients, stripping them of their ability to work legally and placing them at heightened risk of labor abuse and deportation.
“We’re already trying to heal from the trauma of our past. Taking away deferred action only adds more fear and uncertainty,” said Sofia*, a SIJS youth.
The End SIJS Backlog Coalition urges swift passage of the Protect Vulnerable Immigrant Youth Act and a full reinstatement of deferred action protections for youth granted SIJS. Congress and this Administration must act to ensure that children who were promised safety by this country are not abandoned once again.
*All youth names in this press release are pseudonyms to protect their identities.
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The End SIJS Backlog Coalition, a project of the National Immigration Project, is a national group of lawyers, immigrant youth, child welfare organizations and other stakeholders working together to protect the rights of immigrant children seeking permanent legal protection through SIJS.