Case Developments
Settlement Signed
Plaintiffs and defendants signed a settlement agreement that secured the rights of 2,800 immigrant youth in California and forced the Government to retract its harmful nationwide policy.
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Motion to Dismiss Denied
Judge Cousins denied the Government’s Motion to Dismiss the lawsuit, stating “Defendants’ interpretation of the SIJ statute reads in an additional requirement. Because that interpretation is contrary to federal and California law, plaintiffs have stated a claim.”
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Class Certification Granted
Judge Cousins granted plaintiffs’ motion for class certification. The Court certified the following class: Children who have received or will receive guardianship orders pursuant to California Probate Code § 1510.1(a) and who have received or will receive denials of their SIJ status petitions on the grounds that the state court that issued the SIJ Findings lacked jurisdiction because the court did not have the authority to reunify the children with their parents.
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Preliminary injunction granted
Magistrate Judge Nathanael Cousins of the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, issued a preliminary injunction blocking the administration’s efforts to implement its new policy. Judge Cousins found that the government’s justifications in support of its policy change were “lacking” and some of its reasoning was “flawed,” that the plaintiffs raised “serious questions going to the merits” of the government’s case, and that the immigrant children subject to the preliminary injunction face irreparable harm without the injunction.
