Reason
December 14, 2023
Over 100,000 Abused Immigrant Kids Are Stuck in Green Card Limbo
Reason reported on the End SIJS Backlog Coalition and Tulane Law School’s Immigrant Rights Clinic’s newest report, “False Hopes: Over 100,000 Immigrant Youth Trapped in the SIJS Backlog.” The report, based on information obtained through FOIA litigation, details how federal actions have drastically increased the SIJS backlog over the past two years and highlights the first-hand stories of SIJS youth of how the growing backlog continues to impact them.

Telemundo
December 4, 2023
”Los menores inmigrantes víctimas de abuso tienen derecho a la ‘green card’ pero miles esperan en una larga cola”
This Telemundo article highlights the findings found in the End SIJS Backlog Coalition and Tulane Law School’s Immigrant Rights Clinic’s newest report, “False Hopes: Over 100,000 Immigrant Youth Trapped in the SIJS Backlog.” The report’s findings include: USCIS not following the 180 adjudication period and the fact that the backlog has doubled in size since 2021. Professor Laila Hlass and End Rachel Davidson are quoted in the article and discuss solutions to address the backlog.

Slate
December 4, 2023
100,000 Immigrant Kids Are in Limbo Because of a Technicality
Professor Laila Hlass and Rachel Davidson, Director of the End SIJS Backlog Coalition, published an op-ed to discuss the findings in the Coalition’s latest report, “False Hopes: Over 100,000 Immigrant Youth Trapped in the SIJS Backlog.” In the report, the authors reveal that the SIJS backlog has more than doubled in the past two years, with more than 107,000 SIJS youth now trapped. SIJS youth affected by the backlog come from 151 countries and live in all 50 states, with the highest populations in New York, California, Maryland, Massachusetts, Texas, New Jersey, Virginia, Tennessee, Louisiana, and North Carolina.

NBC News
December 4, 2023
”Backlog for abused young immigrants waiting for green cards has doubled, advocates say”
NBC News reported on the End SIJS Backlog Coalition and Tulane Law School’s Immigrant Rights Clinic’s newest report, “False Hopes: Over 100,000 Immigrant Youth Trapped in the SIJS Backlog.” The report, based on information obtained through FOIA litigation, details how federal actions have drastically increased the SIJS backlog over the past two years and highlights the first-hand stories of SIJS youth of how the growing backlog continues to impact them.

Crux
July 20, 2023
“US bishops back bill to help immigrant children, and also religious workers”
Crux reported on the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) support for the “Protect Vulnerable Immigrant Youth Act” as a way to protect immigrant children as well as solve the broader EB4 backlog impacting religious workers. The USCCB Migration Chair is quoted stating that the act would “uphold the right to religious exercise, a foundational American principle, and empower vulnerable young people to flourish in their new country, contribute to our nation, and reach their full God-given potential.” The article also highlights the coalition’s 2021 report and quotes our coalition director, Rachel Davidson, about the Protect Vulnerable Immigrant Act.

TIME
December 16 2021
“A Years Long Immigration Backlog Puts Thousands of Abused Kids in Limbo”
TIME magazine reported on the SIJS Backlog, highlighting the stories of Maria Huerta Rodriguez, our coalition’s youth leader, and two other youth impacted by the SIJS backlog. The article also reports on the data obtained by Professor Laila Hlass, The Door and the Coalition, quantifying the harm of the SIJS Backlog. In a quote from USCIS, the article reports that “USCIS is looking at several policy and procedural options to better protect those who have SIJ classification, but are not yet eligible for Lawful Permanent Residency due to statutory annual limits on visa availability.” This is the first time that a major news source has reported on the SIJS Backlog.

Ms. Magazine
December 14 2021
“Any Day They Could Deport Me: Immigrant Children in Legal Purgatory”
Professor Laila Hlass and Rachel Davidson, co-author’s of the coalition’s comprehensive report on the SIJS Backlog, published an op-ed in Ms. Magazine calling on Congress and the Biden Administration to end the SIJS backlog. They preview our report, releasing the data from our FOIA lawsuit against USCIS revealing the scope of the backlog for the first time, and highlighting the stories of impacted youth.

Slate
June 30 2021
“Biden Could Protect Tens of Thousands of Abused Immigrant Children from Deportation With One Small Fix"”
Lauren Aronson, Theo Liebmann, and Andrea Ramos, law school professors and members of the Coalition’s Steering Committee and Academic Advocacy Working Group, published an op-ed in Slate detailing the amendments to the INA that could exempt SIJS beneficiaries from visa limitations and thus resolve the SIJS green card backlog. They outline the legislative reason why the backlog exists -- the categorization of SIJS visas as "employment-based." By highlighting two SIJS applicants -- one who is from a backlogged country and one who is not -- the article underscores how the backlog results in disparate outcomes for young people from different countries.

NACLA
June 29, 2021
“An Immigration Courts Backlog Keeps Central American Youth in Legal Limbo”
Rebecca Scholtz, Staff Attorney at CLINIC and Rachel Davidson,  Managing Attorney at The Door and  (both coalition steering committee members), were interviewed about the long periods of legal limbo for young people stuck in the SIJS Backlog, the psychological impacts that these wait times have, and the Coalition’s legislative solutions. The article also describes the preliminary eligibility requirements of a state family court order and explains why the wait times are drastically different depending on a young person’s home country. 

Illinois News Bureau
June 11, 2021
“Are we experiencing another unaccompanied child 'crisis' at the Southern US border”
Lauren Aronson, Director of the Immigration Law Clinic at The University of Illinois and then a coalition Steering Committee Member, explains the humanitarian needs driving the arrival of immigrant children at the border. She also clarifies the protective purpose of SIJS as a child welfare mechanism, and calls on Congress to amend the law to end the SIJS Backlog, urging the Biden Administration to take administrative action to protect SIJS backlog impacted youth by granting them access to work permits and protection from removal.

Ms. Magazine
May 26, 2021
“DHS Must Protect Immigrant Children Seeking Protection-Not Deport Them”
Rekha Sharma-Crawford, Kansas City immigration attorney and coalition member, argues that the Department of Homeland Security is undermining the Special Immigrant Juvenile Status Program and harming children they should be protecting by pushing for the removal of SIJS applicants in the backlog. Instead DHS should be terminating removal proceedings for SIJS applicants stuck in the backlog, not deporting them.

Crux
May 22, 2021
“Catholics clamor for fix to green card backlog, end to legal limbo”
Crux reported on the leadership of the coalition’s Catholic partners in our work to end the SIJS backlog, highlighting the coalition’s administrative advocacy sign-on letter which calls on immigration agencies to take action to mitigate the harms of the SIJS green card backlog while we work for a legislative solution. The article explains the cause of the backlog, employment-based visa caps, and the harms to vulnerable children the years of legal limbo cause.

Documented
May 21, 2021
“New York Immigration Experts Call to Protect Young Immigrants Facing Deportation”
Documented reported on the coalition’s advocacy and leadership in the work to end the SIJS green card backlog, uplifting our letter, signed by over 400 individuals and organizations, calling on immigration officials to take immediate action to mitigate the harms of the SIJS green card backlog on children at risk of deportation.

The American Bar Association
February, 24 2021
“A Long Wait for Special Immigrant Juveniles Means A Risk of Deportation”
Dalia Castillo-Granados, Director of the Children’s Immigration Law Academy and now a coalition steering committee member, explains the legal limbo and risk of deportation that SIJS backlog impacted youth face. She also details the ABA policy resolution on the backlog, urging Congress to exempt Special Immigrant Juveniles from visa limitations, and encouraging administrative action to protect SIJS backlog impacted youth from the harms of the backlog.

The Marshall Project
January 28, 2021
“These Young People Were Told They Could Stay in the U.S. They Might Get Deported Anyway.”
The Marshall Project chronicled the devastating impacts of the SIJS backlog on immigrant youth, an injustice that leaves 26,000 immigrant children effectively undocumented for years, despite being deemed eligible to apply for green cards by the government.