Immigrant Youth
The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) is one of only a few technical assistance organizations nationally and in California with expertise on immigrant youth, including unaccompanied minor (UAC) issues. Undocumented immigrant children are an extremely vulnerable population, especially when they enter foster care, removal proceedings, and/or the juvenile justice system. The ILRC works to expand the rights of these immigrant children through policy and advocacy efforts, numerous in-person and webinar trainings, and case-specific assistance. We also write one of the only national publications addressing immigrant youth issues entitled, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and Other Immigration Options for Children & Youth.
Many immigrant youth in the United States may be eligible to apply for lawful immigration status. One of the most common immigration options for immigrant youth is special immigrant juvenile status (SIJS), which is a pathway to a green card for immigrant children who have been abused, abandoned, or neglected by one or both of their parents. Other common forms of relief for children include U visas (for children who were victims of crimes), relief under the Violence Against Women Act (for children who were abused by a U.S. citizen or permanent resident parent or spouse), and asylum (for children who are afraid of returning to their home country).
Latest Resources
Practice Advisory
Resources
Publication Date
04/27/2026
On April 10, 2026, USCIS issued a new memo again terminating the SIJS deferred action (DA) policy (“April 10th Memo”). Under the April 10th Memo, USCIS will no longer automatically consider granting DA to young people granted SIJS. This termination memo does not, however, go into effect until May 10, 2026, and only applies to SIJS petitions filed on or after that date. This practice alert discusses what the April 10th Memo means for SIJS petitions and SIJS DA renewals filed prior to and on or after May 10, 2026, including helpful charts.
Practice Advisory
Resources
Publication Date
04/13/2026
This practice alert, created in partnership with the End SIJS Backlog Coalition, explores a largely un-tested legal argument that young people with approved SIJS petitions can use the SIJS-specific adjustment provisions at INA § 245(h) to satisfy the “inspected and admitted or paroled” requirement to adjust using some other non-SIJS immigrant petition (for example, a spousal petition).
Practice Advisory
Resources
Publication Date
03/17/2026
This practice advisory is Part I of a two-part advisory on civil fines and civil penalties instituted by DHS against noncitizens. Part I discusses the procedures for instituting a fine and recommendations for contesting and appealing a civil fine instituted by DHS. Part II will discuss statutory and Constitutional arguments and defenses against the issuance of fines.
Practice Advisory
Resources
Publication Date
11/21/2025
This resource – created with our partners at the Children’s Immigration Law Academy and National Immigration Project – answers common questions about expedited removal and its application to children and offers arguments against its application to young people who were processed as UCs and young people with approved special immigrant juvenile status (SIJS), should the government attempt to apply it to those groups.
Practice Advisory
Resources
Publication Date
09/18/2025
This practice advisory provides information about recently implemented fee increases at USCIS and EOIR. These fee increases are a result of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” also known as HR1. This advisory explores what we know and what we still don’t know about the fees, how to pay them, and potential future changes.
Toolkit & Reports
Resources
Publication Date
09/04/2025
On April 15, 2025, the ILRC filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for USCIS records regarding the SIJS Deferred Action Policy. When the government failed to respond in a timely manner, we filed suit. This resource includes all documents we have received from USCIS as a result of the FOIA request, as well as a short summary of the request and results.
Public Comments / Sign-on Letters
Resources
Publication Date
07/24/2025
On July 24, 2025, the ILRC submitted a comment strongly opposing the government’s proposed changes to Form G-325A and related policies that end protections for three vulnerable groups: young people with Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), stateless individuals, and immigrant workers in the Deferred Action for Labor Enforcement (DALE) program.
Public Comments / Sign-on Letters
Resources
Publication Date
07/28/2025
The ILRC strongly opposes new U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) policy changes that end deferred action for youth approved for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS).
Public Comments / Sign-on Letters
Resources
Publication Date
07/16/2025
On July 16, 2025, ILRC submitted a comment opposing a new U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) policy that allows the agency to use “derogatory information” against immigration applicants without always disclosing it.
Public Comments / Sign-on Letters
Resources
Publication Date
07/07/2025
On July 7, 2025, the ILRC submitted a comment opposing a new federal rule that changes how the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) handles unaccompanied children.
FAQs & Explainers
Resources
Publication Date
07/28/2025
In this Resource Toolkit, we will address recent changes affecting students and school campuses and what students, parents and caregivers, and school administrators can do to prepare for immigration enforcement action at schools while highlighting the constitutional protections that remain a pillar of our democracy.
Related Products
Webinar
Webinar
We will review how the CSPA protects certain family-based beneficiaries of immigrant visa petitions and how to calculate the CSPA age. We will also review when the Visa Bulletin is involved, and when and how visa regression affects the CSPA age. Finally, we will touch on the rules regarding recapturing priority dates, discuss strategies for clients in danger of “aging out” who may not be protected by CSPA, and address a recent USCIS policy update pertaining to CSPA.
Webinar
Webinar
This webinar will provide an introduction to special immigrant juvenile status (SIJS) - a unique path to immigration status for young people under the age of 21. We will provide an overview of the legal requirements and process of seeking SIJS and SIJS-based adjustment of status, all the way from state juvenile court to adjustment of status.
Webinar
Webinar
Level: Intermediate
Eligibility for special immigrant juvenile status (SIJS) requires the involvement of a state juvenile court. This webinar will go over what needs to be included in a successful SIJS state court predicate order, looking at guidance contained in the USCIS Policy Manual and the new SIJS regulations. We will then take a more detailed look at successful state court orders in both California and Texas as a way to see this guidance in action.
Presenters
Rachel Prandini - Staff Attorney, ILRC
Rachel is one of ILRC’s staff attorneys based in San Francisco. Rachel focuses on immigrant youth issues, including unaccompanied minors and immigrant youth in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems. Rachel provides technical assistance and trainings to immigration and state court attorneys, social workers, and judges. She works on statewide and national policy that affects the rights of immigrant youth and is frequently consulted for her expertise in Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. Rachel co-authored the ILRC’s publication Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and Other Immigration Options for Children and Youth.
Prior to joining the ILRC, Rachel represented detained and released unaccompanied minors in removal defense and led a project focusing on Special Immigrant Juvenile Status at Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project in Los Angeles. While at Esperanza, Rachel also performed "Know Your Rights" work in southern California immigration detention centers for minors. Previously, Rachel worked as an associate at Paul Hastings, LLP and volunteered as a Child Advocate for unaccompanied minors.
Rachel earned her law degree from the University of California at Davis, where she was a member of the Immigration Law Clinic and worked on complex deportation defense cases and detention issues. She received her undergraduate degree from Westmont College, where she double-majored in philosophy and political science. Rachel is admitted to the bar in California. She is conversant in Spanish.
Dalia Castillo-Granados - Co-Founder and Director, Children’s Immigration Law Academy (CILA)
Dalia Castillo-Granados is the co-founder and director of the Children’s Immigration Law Academy (CILA), a project of the American Bar Association (ABA) Commission on Immigration. Dalia is a frequent speaker on Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) and led the effort at the ABA to advocate for deferred action for SIJS youth stuck in the visa backlog. Prior to working at CILA, Dalia was a senior attorney at Kids in Need of Defense, a staff attorney at Tahirih Justice Center, a clinical supervising attorney at the University of Houston’s Immigration Clinic, and a Greenberg Traurig, LLP Equal Justice Works fellow at Catholic Charities’ Cabrini Center. Throughout her career, Dalia has represented hundreds of children in their immigration proceedings and before Texas state courts.
Eligibility for special immigrant juvenile status (SIJS) requires the involvement of a state juvenile court. This webinar will go over what needs to be included in a successful SIJS state court predicate order, looking at guidance contained in the USCIS Policy Manual and the new SIJS regulations. We will then take a more detailed look at successful state court orders in both California and Texas as a way to see this guidance in action.
Presenters
Rachel Prandini - Staff Attorney, ILRC
Rachel is one of ILRC’s staff attorneys based in San Francisco. Rachel focuses on immigrant youth issues, including unaccompanied minors and immigrant youth in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems. Rachel provides technical assistance and trainings to immigration and state court attorneys, social workers, and judges. She works on statewide and national policy that affects the rights of immigrant youth and is frequently consulted for her expertise in Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. Rachel co-authored the ILRC’s publication Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and Other Immigration Options for Children and Youth.
Prior to joining the ILRC, Rachel represented detained and released unaccompanied minors in removal defense and led a project focusing on Special Immigrant Juvenile Status at Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project in Los Angeles. While at Esperanza, Rachel also performed "Know Your Rights" work in southern California immigration detention centers for minors. Previously, Rachel worked as an associate at Paul Hastings, LLP and volunteered as a Child Advocate for unaccompanied minors.
Rachel earned her law degree from the University of California at Davis, where she was a member of the Immigration Law Clinic and worked on complex deportation defense cases and detention issues. She received her undergraduate degree from Westmont College, where she double-majored in philosophy and political science. Rachel is admitted to the bar in California. She is conversant in Spanish.
Dalia Castillo-Granados - Co-Founder and Director, Children’s Immigration Law Academy (CILA)
Dalia Castillo-Granados is the co-founder and director of the Children’s Immigration Law Academy (CILA), a project of the American Bar Association (ABA) Commission on Immigration. Dalia is a frequent speaker on Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) and led the effort at the ABA to advocate for deferred action for SIJS youth stuck in the visa backlog. Prior to working at CILA, Dalia was a senior attorney at Kids in Need of Defense, a staff attorney at Tahirih Justice Center, a clinical supervising attorney at the University of Houston’s Immigration Clinic, and a Greenberg Traurig, LLP Equal Justice Works fellow at Catholic Charities’ Cabrini Center. Throughout her career, Dalia has represented hundreds of children in their immigration proceedings and before Texas state courts.
Webinar
Webinar
Level: BeginnerThis webinar will help advocates understand how the immigration detention and deportation system works for unaccompanied children (UCs), whether they migrated alone or with a parent or other family member and were later separated. It will help demystify the maze of immigration policies and procedures that apply specifically to UCs, including a discussion of which children are classified as UCs, the federal agencies that interact with UCs, the detention and release process for UCs, and updates on how the Biden Administration has responded to increased numbers of UCs.PresentersRachel Prandini, Staff Attorney - ILRCRachel is one of ILRC’s staff attorneys based in San Francisco. Rachel focuses on immigrant youth issues, including unaccompanied minors and immigrant youth in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems. Rachel provides technical assistance and trainings to immigration and state court attorneys, social workers, and judges. She works on statewide and national policy that affects the rights of immigrant youth and is frequently consulted for her expertise in Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. Rachel co-authored the ILRC’s publication Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and Other Immigration Options for Children and Youth.
Webinar
Webinar
Level: IntermediateThis webinar will discuss FOIA requests in immigration cases and provide tips for filing FOIA requests with DHS, including USCIS, OBIM, ICE and CBP. Researching clients’ case histories may become particularly important if any of the proposed legalization bills are enacted.
Publication
Publication
Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and Other Immigration Options for Children and Youth is an essential guide for those representing the increased number of unaccompanied minors who have migrated to the United States in recent years, as well as those representing immigrant youth who were brought to the United States at a young age and know no other home. Immigrant children and youth may be eligible for many types of immigration relief, including some available only to children.