Immigrant Defenders Law Center v. Department of Homeland Security
Challenging the Federal Government’s Denial of Legal Protections to Unaccompanied Children Previously Placed in Remain in Mexico Program
Filed 2021 at the District Court for the Southern District of California
In 2021 immigrants’ rights groups brought this lawsuit to challenge a DHS policy that denied and violated the legal protections afforded by the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) to unaccompanied children, if the child had ever had any interaction with any part of the Migrant Protection Protocols (Remain in Mexico program).
The policy placed at least 500 unaccompanied children who have been detained in government facilities and previously interacted with the Remain in Mexico program at risk of being deported by DHS without having their day in court.
The Young Center filed a declaration in support of plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction to bar the policy. On September 29, 2025, the federal court vacated DHS’s unlawful policy and reaffirmed that protections under the TVPRA apply to all unaccompanied children, including those who were caught up by the Remain in Mexico program.
More about the case can be found at ImmDef’s website.
Court Documents
- Complaint: Filed 2/12/21
- Young Center Declaration
Filed 5/14/21
- Young Center Declaration