Original Date Announced

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) promulgated an interim final rule (IFR) rescinding a provision of the Biden Administration's Unaccompanied Children Program Foundational Rule ("Foundational Rule") that prohibited disqualifying potential sponsors of unaccompanied minor children "based solely on their immigration status," and collecting and sharing "information on immigration status of potential sponsors for law enforcement or immigration enforcement related purposes." The IFR in effect readopts a "memorandum of agreement" established between ORR, ICE, and CBP during the first Trump administration permitting information sharing for immigration enforcement purposes.

The IFR is effective March 25, 2025, but public comments may be received until May 27, 2025.

Trump 2.0 [ID #1646]

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.05.08 Class Action Complaint - Angelica S. v. HHS

Five children in immigration custody and the Immigrant Defenders Law Center filed a class action lawsuit for injunctive and declarative relief challenging the IFR issued on March 24 and changes to ORR's sponsor requirements. The complaint alleges that issuance of the IFR exceeds the statutory authority of ORR and is arbitrary and capricious because it "represents a full reversal of a critical section of ORR's Foundational Rule without a reasoned explanation." It also violates the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) because ORR promulgated the IFR with immediate effect and without good cause supporting its decision to bypass notice and comment. Furthermore, plaintiffs assert that "children in ORR custody have a constitutional interest in family integrity."

Plaintiffs represent a putative class of all "unaccompanied children who are or will be in the custody of HHS and who have not been released to a sponsor because of ORR’s new documentation requirements." Angelica S. v. HHS, No. 25-cv-1405 (D.D.C.)

**Link to case here. Litigation entries report only the initial complaint and any major substantive rulings.  CourtListener provides access to PACER and pleadings. Sites that track litigation more comprehensively include Civil Rights Clearinghouse, Justice Action Center, and Just Security Litigation Tracker**

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.06.09 Order and Opinion Granting Class Certification and Preliminary Injunction - Angelica v. HHS

District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich of the District of Columbia grants plaintiffs' motions for class certification and grants in part plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction in Angelica S. v. HHS. The Court provisionally certified a class of a class of unaccompanied children who were in the custody of HHS on or before April 22, 2025, who have or had a potential sponsor whose "family reunification application has been denied, closed, withdrawn, delayed, or cannot be completed because the sponsor is missing documents newly required on or after March 7, 2025." The Court then granted a preliminary injunction enjoining the government from enforcing new sponsorship requirements on the basis that HHS acted arbitrarily and capriciously in failing to explain its new policy and failing to account for plaintiffs' reliance interests in the prior policy. However, the Court denied the preliminary injunction with respect to the Interim Final Rule because plaintiffs' injuries preceded the IFR. The order "does not obligate ORR to approve any particular sponsor or to release any individual child. Nor does it prevent ORR from imposing more rigorous sponsor documentation requirements." Angelica S. v. HHS, No. 25-cv-1405 (D.D.C.).

*see litigation note above*