Seeks to remedy egregious neglect of asylum cases pending for up to six years.
Los Angeles, CA (8/7/24) – Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef) filed a lawsuit today calling on the federal courts to compel the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to hold asylum interviews for 11 government-designated unaccompanied minors. USCIS is obligated by law to conduct interviews within forty-five days after an asylum application is filed. These 11 asylum cases have been pending for between 242 days (nearly 8 months) to 2,457 days (over 6.5 years) without any explanation or indication that an interview is forthcoming. With their cases languishing in legal limbo, ImmDef’s clients—who range in age from 9 years old to 25 years old—have suffered mental and economic stress. Without adjudication of their asylum case, unaccompanied minors cannot obtain resources that improve their wellbeing, including housing.
Plaintiff Story Excerpts:
M.S.A. is an 18-year-old from Mauritania who fled political persecution. He has waited more than 280 days (over eight months) for his asylum interview. Since he turned 18 years old while waiting, he was unable to apply to the Unaccompanied Refugee Minors Program (URM) which could have supported him with resources and stable housing until he turns 21. He now resides in a shelter awaiting his asylum interview to be scheduled.
Y.A.E. is a 25-year-old LGBTQIA+ asylum seeker who fled El Salvador due to severe threats from a gang who had killed several of her family members. She also experienced harassment from her family because she is gay. She has waited over 2,457 days (6.7 years) for her first asylum interview.
ImmDef condemns the flagrant delay in scheduling asylum interviews for vulnerable unaccompanied minors and has issued the following statement:
“We will not accept outrageous asylum application delays as the new normal. These staggering delays prove that our broken asylum system is failing children and families and shirk our legal responsibility to protect people from persecution. Vulnerable children deserve our time and attention, and an asylum system that truly secures their right to live safely and to thrive,” said Alvaro M. Huerta, Director of Litigation and Advocacy at ImmDef.
“For far too long, harmful asylum policies and poor USCIS infrastructure have forced children fleeing persecution, like our client M.S.A., into instability once they reach the United States. After fleeing political persecution in his home country, M.S.A. believed the United States would help him. But instead, he’s been subjected to legal purgatory and has been stripped of his right to resources, like housing through the Unaccompanied Refugee Minors Program, because of USCIS’ indefinite delays. Children shouldn’t face homelessness while waiting for the government to do their job. Asylum-seeking children who arrive in the United States alone deserve a system that is functional and protects them from harm rather than one that causes even more damage,” said Carson Adrianna Scott, Staff Attorney at ImmDef.
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The Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef) is a next-generation social justice law firm that defends immigrant communities against injustices in the immigration system. Our programs are a first step towards the long-term goal of providing universal representation to all immigrants facing deportation. ImmDef is now the largest non‐profit, pro bono provider of deportation defense in California, with offices in Los Angeles, Riverside, Santa Ana, and San Diego.
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