Immigrants’ Rights
Defending the Right to Special Immigrant Juvenile Status in California
Case Overview
Our Clients
J.L. v. Cissna, et al, is a class action challenging an unlawful Trump Administration policy that sought to deny humanitarian relief to hundreds of immigrant children in California. The policy aimed to bar a class of petitioners in California, aged 18–20, from being granted Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) despite California state courts having determined these young people were eligible for this humanitarian relief based on past parental abuse, abandonment or neglect.
Plaintiffs allege that in early 2018, the federal government began to unlawfully deny class members’ petitions for relief by refusing to recognize the authority of some California juvenile courts, a change that was implemented without any notice or any public announcement. The suit was filed in August 2018 by Public Counsel; Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP; and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area (LCCR).
In October 2019, 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. The Court approved the settlement in December 2019.
Court
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
Status
Settled
Case No.
18-cv-04914-NC
Filed
08/14/2018
our Co-Counsel
Case Developments
Settlement
10/25/2019
Settlement Signed
Plaintiffs and Defendants signed a settlement agreement that secured the rights of 2,800 immigrant youth in California and forced the Defendants to retract its harmful nationwide policy.
Order
03/15/2019
District Court Denies Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss
Magistrate Judge Cousins denied the Defendants’ 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.”
Order
02/01/2019
District Court Grants Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification
Magistrate 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.
Order
10/24/2018
District Court Grants Preliminary Injunction
Magistrate Judge Cousins issued a preliminary injunction blocking the administration’s efforts to implement their new policy. Magistrate Judge Cousins found that the Defendants’ justifications in support of their policy change were “lacking” and some of their reasoning was “flawed,” that the Plaintiffs raised “serious questions going to the merits” of the Defendants’ case, and that the immigrant children subject to the preliminary injunction face irreparable harm without the injunction.
ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION
