Latest news with #OfficeofRefugeeResettlement
The Hindu
19 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Judge orders U.S. refugee office to reconsider some children's cases
A Federal Judge said on Monday (June 9, 2025) that the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement must reconsider the cases of some migrant children who have been stuck in government custody since the Trump administration changed the identification requirements for would-be family sponsors. Also Read | U.S. deports 3 American children, including cancer patient: rights groups The opinion from U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich in Washington, D.C., found that the Trump administration's more stringent regulations caused undue delays for the children and the parents and adult siblings who were hoping to bring the kids into their homes. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. "The ruling sends a clear and necessary message: the government cannot trap children in detention simply because their families lack specific documents or legal status,' said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, a legal advocacy firm representing some of the migrant children. 'The court's decision is not only a step toward reuniting families — it pushes back against a broader effort to erode long-standing legal protections for children.' Under Mr. Trump's rules, migrant children have stayed in shelters for an average of 217 days before being released to family members, according to data from the Health and Human Services Department's Office of Refugee Resettlement. During the Biden administration, migrant children spent an average of 35 days in shelters before being released to sponsors. The Trump administration says adult sponsors who took in migrant children were not always properly vetted, placing some of the children at risk of abuse or exploitation. The new regulations include DNA testing and income verification. They also prohibit sponsor applicants from using foreign passports and documents from other countries to prove identity. Friedrich said there's a compelling reason for the rule changes — an ORR report in 2023 found multiple instances of fraud, including 10 occasions where children were released to sponsors with falsified documents. Still, the judge wrote, there wasn't any advance notice given of the changes, and many of the children in government custody arrived in the United States with the expectation that they had family members and friends who could sponsor them. If they had been aware of the changes, they might not have entered the U.S., the judge wrote. One child who had already been released to live with his sister for two years under the old requirements was taken back into custody after driving without a license. Now, under the new rules, he is stuck in government custody without a potential sponsor, the judge noted. It's likely that the Office of Refugee Resettlement 'acted arbitrarily and capriciously by not providing adequate justification for its new sponsor documentation requirements,' Friedrich wrote. He said the agency wasn't obligated to approve any particular sponsor or to release any individual child, but it cannot create a new blanket policy without explaining how it weighed the disrupted interests of the families and children against other valid concerns.
Washington Post
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Judge orders US refugee office to reconsider some children's cases
WASHINGTON — A federal judge said Monday that the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement must reconsider the cases of some migrant children who have been stuck in government custody since the Trump administration changed the identification requirements for would-be family sponsors. The opinion from U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich in Washington, D.C., found that the Trump administration's more stringent regulations caused undue delays for the children and the parents and adult siblings who were hoping to bring the kids into their homes.
Epoch Times
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Toddler Separated From Parents in Deportation Case Is Reunited With Mother in Venezuela
A 2-year-old girl was reunited with her Venezuelan family on May 14 after her parents, whom the federal government accuses of being members of the violent Tren de Aragua gang, were deported from the United States without her. The toddler, Maikelys Espinoza Bernal, arrived in Venezuela on a repatriation flight alongside more than 220 U.S. deportees and was greeted by Venezuela's first lady, Cilia Flores. Later, the child was reunited with her mother, Yorely Escarleth Bernal Inciarte, and maternal grandmother at the presidential palace alongside Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Maduro thanked the U.S. government for facilitating the return of the child. 'We must be thankful for all the efforts, for [Trump special envoy] Rich Grenell for his efforts ... and thank Donald Trump too,' Maduro said, calling the girl's return 'an act of justice.' The child and her parents entered the United States illegally in May 2024, according to court Related Stories 5/14/2025 5/12/2025 The couple was placed in immigration detention, while their daughter was placed in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), an office within the Department of Health and Human Services, the document states. In March, the toddler's father, Maiker Espinoza-Escalona, was among those deported from the United States to CECOT, a maximum security prison in El Salvador, according to the Venezuelan government. The Trump administration sent at least The child's mother was later deported on a flight to Venezuela in April without her daughter. Venezuela's socialist government had called for the child to be returned to the South American nation and alleged the U.S. government had 'kidnapped' the child. The Department of Homeland Security responded in an April 26 DHS Says Parents Are Members of Violent Gang According to the statement, the toddler's father is a lieutenant in the gang who 'oversees homicides, drug sales, kidnappings, extortion, sex trafficking, and operates a torture house.' The child's mother 'oversees recruitment of young women for drug smuggling and prostitution for Tren de Aragua,' the department said. 'These criminal illegal aliens entered the country illegally and had final orders of removal from a judge,' it added. The department said that the child was taken off the deportation flight manifest and not returned to Venezuela with her mother for her own 'safety and welfare.' It said the child was placed with a foster family. Espinoza-Escalona's family has denied the claims by DHS that he is associated with Tren De Aragua. 'At no time has my son been involved with them,' his mother, Maria Escalona, After returning the toddler to her mother, DHS said in a 'ICE defers to the government of Venezuela to advise if the child is with the mother or in government custody, but at least we know the child will not be with her TDA father who operated a torture house and oversaw homicides, drug sales, kidnappings, extortion, and sex trafficking for the criminal gang—Thanks to President Trump, this terrorist gang member is locked up in CECOT,' DHS said. The Epoch Times has contacted DHS for further comment.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Suit challenges new rules on children in federal custody who crossed into US
McALLEN, Texas (AP) — Two advocacy groups filed a federal lawsuit Thursday asking the courts to halt new Trump Administration vetting procedures for reuniting children who crossed into the U.S. without their parents, saying the changes are keeping families separated longer and are inhumane. The lawsuit was filed by the National Center for Youth Law and Democracy Forward in federal court in the District of Columbia. It names the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and its Office of Refugee Resettlement and seeks a return to prior reunification procedures. Critics note the government data shows the average time that the children are held in custody before release by the Office of Refugee Resettlement to their sponsors grew from 37 days in January to over 112 days by March. In February, the Trump administration changed the way it reviews sponsors who want to care for migrant children in government custody, whether parents or relatives of the minors -- or others. More changes followed in March and April when the government started to require identification or proof of income that only those legally present in the U.S. could acquire. Advocates for the families affected are asking a judge to declare the changes unlawful and return the agency to the policies in place before that. 'The government has dramatically increased the burden on families in a way that deeply undermines children's safety. These policy changes are part of a broader unraveling of a bi-partisan, decades-long commitment to support the best interests of unaccompanied children,' said Neha Desai, a managing director at National Center for Youth Law. Attorneys said they had heard from families who were moments away from receiving their children back when the rules were abruptly changed. Now, many say they are left waiting indefinitely. 'The administration has reversed years of established children's welfare protections and replaced them with fear, prolonged detention, and bureaucratic cruelty,' said Skye Perryman, president of Democracy Forward in a statement. One Mexican woman who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of fears of deportation said she and her 8-year-old son were led to believe repeatedly that they would be reunited, only to find out the new policy changes would derail their plans. The mother, who arrived first across the border from Mexico, has noticed her son lose hope over the last 11 months, even refusing to unpack after the last time he thought his release from a government-run shelter was imminent. 'He's seen so many children who have come, leave, and he's stayed behind," said the mother, who wasn't part of the lawsuit. The Trump administration says it is increasing scrutiny of parents and other sponsors before giving them custody of their children who have crossed the border as unaccompanied minors. HHS did not immediately respond to emails from AP seeking comment in response to the lawsuit filed Thursday afternoon. Similar restrictions were imposed in 2018 under Trump's first presidency during the rollout of a zero-tolerance policy that separated families and required fingerprinting for all members of a household receiving a child. The administration scaled back the requirements after custody times increased. ____ This story has been updated to correct that the Department of Homeland Security was not named in the lawsuit as previously stated.
Winnipeg Free Press
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Suit challenges new rules on children in federal custody who crossed into US
McALLEN, Texas (AP) — Two advocacy groups for migrants filed a federal lawsuit Thursday asking the courts to halt new Trump Administration vetting procedures for reuniting children who crossed into the U.S. without their parents, saying the changes are keeping families separated longer and are inhumane. The lawsuit was filed by the National Center for Youth Law and Democracy Forward in federal court in the District of Columbia. It names the U.S. Department of Homeland Security along with the federal Health and Human Services agency and its Office of Refugee Resettlement and seeks a return to prior reunification procedures. Critics note the government data shows the average time that the children are held in custody before release by the Office of Refugee Resettlement to their sponsors grew from 37 days in January to over 112 days by March. In February, the Trump administration changed the way it reviews sponsors who want to care for migrant children in government custody, whether parents or relatives of the minors — or others. More changes followed in March and April when the government started to require identification or proof of income that only those legally present in the U.S. could acquire. Advocates for the families affected are asking a judge to declare the changes unlawful and return the agency to the policies in place before that. 'The government has dramatically increased the burden on families in a way that deeply undermines children's safety. These policy changes are part of a broader unraveling of a bi-partisan, decades-long commitment to support the best interests of unaccompanied children,' said Neha Desai, a managing director at National Center for Youth Law. Attorneys said they had heard from families who were moments away from receiving their children back when the rules were abruptly changed. Now, many say they are left waiting indefinitely. 'The administration has reversed years of established children's welfare protections and replaced them with fear, prolonged detention, and bureaucratic cruelty,' said Skye Perryman, president of Democracy Forward in a statement. One Mexican woman who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of fears of deportation said she and her 8-year-old son were led to believe repeatedly that they would be reunited, only to find out the new policy changes would derail their plans. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. The mother, who arrived first across the border from Mexico, has noticed her son lose hope over the last 11 months, even refusing to unpack after the last time he thought his release from a government-run shelter was imminent. 'He's seen so many children who have come, leave, and he's stayed behind,' said the mother, who wasn't part of the lawsuit. The Trump administration says it is increasing scrutiny of parents and other sponsors before giving them custody of their children who have crossed the border as unaccompanied minors. DHS and HHS did not immediately respond to emails from AP seeking comment in response to the lawsuit filed Thursday afternoon. Similar restrictions were imposed in 2018 under Trump's first presidency during the rollout of a zero-tolerance policy that separated families and required fingerprinting for all members of a household receiving a child. The administration scaled back the requirements after custody times increased.
