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Original Date Announced
May 31, 2019USCIS will make independent factual inquiries in all asylum applications made by unaccompanied children (UACs) to determine whether they meet the UAC definition on the date of filing. Officers will make this determination (which requires a finding that the applicant was under 18 and unaccompanied at the time of first filing) using records, documentary evidence, and oral testimony.
[ID #80]
Updated Procedures for Asylum Applications Filed by Unaccompanied Alien ChildrenEffective Date
June 30, 2019Subsequent Trump and Court Action(s)
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August 2, 2019
J.O.P. v. DHS Memorandum Opinion
A district court judge in J.O.P. v. DHS, (8:19-cv-1944 (D. Md. Aug. 2, 2019)) issued temporary restraining order enjoining implementation of the policy. USCIS is barred from “rejecting jurisdiction over the application of any UAC… whose application would have been accepted under” the Kim Memo. USCIS must retract decisions already made. USCIS must “retract any adverse decision already rendered” under the new policy “and reinstate consideration of such case applying the [Kim Memo].” Litigation continues with Judge George Hazel on June 3, 2020 denying the government's motion to dismiss/motion for summary judgment.
On Dec. 21, 2020, the court issued an order certifying a class and amending the injunction. The policy remains enjoined.
**Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**
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August 22, 2024
2024.08.22 Settlement Agreement
On August 22, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland preliminarily approved a settlement agreement reached between the parties in J.O.P. v. DHS. As stated in the proposed settlement agreement, USCIS will fully rescind their 2019 memo. Additionally, "[d]efendants shall retract all other Adverse Jurisdictional Determinations rendered on or after June 30, 2019 that are inconsistent with [the settlement agreement] no later than 180 days after USCIS’s issuance of the superseding memorandum . . ." The superseding memorandum that DHS will issue pursuant to this agreement will be kept in effect for at least three years.
**Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**
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Current Status
Not in effectOriginal Trump Policy Status
Trump Administration Action: Change in PracticeSubject Matter: Minors Asylum, Withholding and CATAgencies Affected: USCISPre Trump-Era Policies
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May 28, 2013
The prior May 28, 2013 USCIS memorandum put forward procedures for determining jurisdiction that allowed asylum officers to adopt prior unaccompanied child (UAC) determinations made by CBP or ICE with no further factual inquiry (so long as those determinations were still in place on the date of filing the asylum application).
Updated Procedures for Determination of Initial Jurisdiction over Asylum Applications Filed by Unaccompanied Alien Children
Documents
Trump-Era Policy Documents
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New Policy
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Prior Policy
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Subsequent Action
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Subsequent Action
Original Source:
National Immigration Project
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Commentary
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Other
Original Source:
J.O.P. v. D.H.S. - Civil Rights Clearinghouse
To provide information, corrections, or feedback, please email IPTP.feedback@gmail.com
To provide information, corrections, or feedback, please email IPTP.feedback@gmail.com
Commentary
New USCIS memo denies access to non-adversarial affirmative asylum procedures for many vulnderable children
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