On March 25, 2025, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued the “Interim Final Rule,” which unlawfully disqualifies parents, siblings, and other close family members from sponsoring unaccompanied immigrant children.
The “Interim Final Rule” rescinds key protections in the 2024 “Foundational Rule” that prevented the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) from disqualifying sponsors based solely on immigration status or sharing their personal information with immigration enforcement agencies.
ORR also imposed new identification and income verification requirements, which are often extremely difficult for undocumented sponsors to satisfy, blocking children’s release and extending their detention.
Congress has long required that unaccompanied immigrant children be placed in the “least restrictive setting” in the child’s best interest. Children who would previously have been released to a family member within days or weeks are now indefinitely trapped in government custody, potentially for many months or even years.
Children and an immigrant defense organization represented by Democracy Forward and the National Center for Youth Law (NCYL) filed a class action complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia challenging the policy.
Plaintiffs include several children, including a 14-year-old boy who is detained with his 7-year-old brother, and a 17-year-old who is detained with her infant daughter. These children and minors — along with many others like them — remain in detention despite ready and able family sponsors. Plaintiffs also include Immigrant Defenders Law Center, a nonprofit organization that provides legal services to immigrants, including unaccompanied children.
On June 9, the District Court for the District of Columbia partially granted the preliminary injunction, stopping the application of the unlawful requirements and allowing the process of family sponsorships without discriminatory, unreasonable barriers. This will help to ensure children are not held in custody longer than necessary and can instead be placed in the care of families and sponsors.
The case is Angelica S. et al. v. Department of Health and Human Services