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DOJ moves to terminate injunction governing notice of hearing and access to counsel for unaccompanied children, provides UCs with new advisal document

  1. Original Date Announced

    November 11, 2025

    DHS has begun issuing a document to unaccompanied children, both those detained in ORR custody and those who have not yet been transferred from ICE or CBP custody, that immigration attorneys assert severely misstates the law and makes several assertions that are "more aptly characterized as threats" against unaccompanied children who assert their rights under the Trafficking Protection Victims Reauthorization Act (TVPRA). The document, entitled "UAC Processing Pathways Advisal," allegedly misstates applicable immigration laws and asserts that while those unaccompanied minors who sign voluntary departure forms will face no immigration consequences, those who don't will be detained "for a prolonged period of time" and their sponsor "will be subject to arrest and removal from the United States" and "criminal prosecution for aiding your illegal entry."

    At the same time, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a motion to terminate a 1985 permanent injunction in Perez-Funez v. Crosland that has required the government to provide standardized notices (Form I-770) to unaccompanied minors of their right to an immigration hearing prior to removal and to provide them with access to a phone call with a lawyer or trusted adult. Termination of the permanent injunction would allow the administration to devise its own procedures for advising unaccompanied children of their rights and allow such children to waive their rights to immigration hearings prior to removal by signing voluntary departure forms. Perez-Funez v. Crosland, 2:81-cv-01457, (C.D. Cal.)

    **Link to case here. Our litigation entries generally report only the initial complaint and any major substantive filings or decisions. For additional information, CourtListener provides access to PACER and all available pleadings. Other sites that track litigation in more detail or organize cases by topic include Civil Rights Clearinghouse, Justice Action Center, National Immigration Litigation Alliance, and Just Security**

    2025.11.11 DHS - UAC Processing Pathway Advisal 2025.11.12 Motion to Terminate Permanent Injunction - Perez-Funez v. DHS

Current Status

None

Original Trump Policy Status

Status: Proposed In Litigation
Trump Administration Actions: Change in Practice Forms and Information Collection
Subject Matter: Minors Border
Agencies Affected: DOJ CBP ICE

Associated or Derivative Policies

Pre Trump-Era Policies

  • September 30, 1985

    In 1985, the United States District Court for the Central District of California issued a permanent injunction finding that the INS's procedures for allowing unaccompanied minors to sign voluntary departure forms violated the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause, given that the high risk of erroneous deprivation of their rights outweigh the government's asserted interests. The court found that such children are "incapable of making informed decisions concerning the exercise of wavier of individual rights" under the circumstances. The permanent injunction required unaccompanied children arriving in the United States to receive written notice of their right to a hearing in immigration court and access to a telephone call with a lawyer or responsible adult.

    1985.09.30 Memorandum Opinion - Perez-Funez v. Crosland
  • January 6, 2026

    A redacted copy of a Form I-770, as mandated by Perez-Funez v. Crosland.

    2026.01.06 DHS Form I-770 - Notice of Rights and Disposition

Documents

Trump-Era Policy Documents

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