Overview
- The administration is moving children’s immigration hearings up by weeks or months, accelerating decisions on whether they can stay in the United States or be deported.
- HHS says faster processing protects children from trafficking and cuts time in custody, while a White House official says the goal is to quickly return trafficked children to their families.
- Attorneys warn the compressed schedule makes it hard to secure Special Immigrant Juvenile status, which requires state court findings and a federal review that can take months.
- Advocates report some children who had been living with parents or guardians are being returned to government custody, and stricter sponsor rules are slowing new releases.
- Federal data show more than 2,000 children were in HHS custody as of March and that average stays now stretch to nearly seven months.