Four Immigrant Children in Government Custody Sue Feds for Detainment

Four child immigrants whose advocates say are being unlawfully held by the Office of Refugee Resettlement have sued the agency and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in federal court.

These unaccompanied minors, who came to the United States without their parents, had already passed through government custody upon arrival and were placed with family or friends who federal officials deemed fit to care for them. 

All four ended up in detention again — a 16-year-old girl was followed home from the laundromat, a 14-year-old boy was a passenger in a traffic stop, according to the complaint — and held for months, missing their families and school despite having vetted caretakers at home. 

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Some of these teens may be forced to enter the foster care system because their guardians, many of whom are their parents, cannot meet stricter new identification and other government requirements, according to Democracy Forward and The National Center for Youth Law, the two groups that filed the class action lawsuit Monday in Washington, D.C.

“The government already vetted these sponsors, approved these reunifications, and sent these children home,” Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, said in a statement. “Now, without any justification, it is ripping children from their homes and families, subjecting them to detention, and forcing families through an endless bureaucratic process.” 

The advocates note Congress requires unaccompanied children to be placed in the “least restrictive setting,” but that the Trump administration’s increased immigration enforcement has resulted in hundreds being detained and separated from their families as their asylum requests are considered. 

They say the administration is forcing previously approved sponsors to reapply “through a new, confusing, months-long process that many cannot complete due to their immigration status.” It’s as if these sponsors had never been approved in the past, the lawsuit alleges, adding there is no process through which the federal government’s policies can be challenged.  

The lawsuit seeks the teens’ release from detention, prompt reunification with their previously approved sponsors and due process moving forward.

“Children are missing school, milestones, and time with loved ones because of a blanket policy that ignores their rights and their humanity,” Perryman added. “Once again, we are in court to stop this unlawful practice and ensure that children are not treated as collateral damage in the president’s power grab.”

The Administration for Children and Families, which oversees the Office of Refugee Resettlement and is under the Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement Wednesday it does not comment on ongoing litigation. The Department of Homeland Security did not answer questions about its detention policies. 

There were 2,460 children in the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s care at the end of January according to government records. The agency operates a network of 171 shelters and programs across 24 states. While the number of children and the facilities that house them have decreased in recent years, the average length of stay for young people has more than tripled from 38 days in fiscal year 2015 to 117 days a decade later.

The office became more stringent in its sponsorship requirements last winter when it began refusing foreign passports as acceptable forms of identification. It also expanded fingerprinting, DNA testing and home study requirements — and changed the means through which families must prove financial stability and their address.

It now demands in-person appointments to verify identification, often with federal immigration agents present, and eliminated protections against sharing applicants’ citizenship status with DHS, increasing sponsors’ risk of detainment.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement has said its regulations are designed to protect children “from smugglers, traffickers, or others who might seek to victimize or otherwise engage the child in criminal, harmful or exploitative activity.”

The lawsuit notes children in government care can’t participate in outside extracurricular activities and are not permitted to leave the facilities where they are housed except for occasional outings accompanied by staff.

“With the exception of children placed in long-term foster care, children in ORR custody do not attend public school and instead attend class within the facility,” the lawsuit states. “These education programs are designed for short-term stays and generally do not provide academic credit.” 

The lawsuit said, too, that “sudden and unexpected inability to attend school, see their friends, and regularly see and speak to their family compounds the trauma of detention.”

Immigrant advocates filed a different motion Tuesday to stop U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents from urging newly arrived unaccompanied minors to self deport.

Adam Strom, co-founder and executive director of Re-Imagining Migration, said the impact of the government’s actions are profound. 

“The research is clear that separating children from their families, friends, and supportive school communities does real and lasting harm,” he said. “Instead of removing young people from those who care for them, we should be working to ensure all young people get the support they need to thrive — in their schools, in their families, and in their communities.”

The four students in the lawsuit are identified by their first name and last initial. Diego N., 14, was living with his father, stepmother, and siblings in South Texas until he was detained in November by Border Patrol as a passenger in a traffic stop. His father’s application as a sponsor “has been continually delayed by a seemingly never ending list of requirements.”

The boy’s education has suffered.

“Diego also does not feel that he is learning anything while he is in ORR custody because the lessons are too easy and basic,” the lawsuit said. “He is being taught how to name fruits in English when he should be a freshman at his public high school.”

Renesme R., 16, was living with her father for two years in Tennessee and “was thriving in school, playing volleyball, and participating in Junior ROTC in the hopes of serving in the U.S. military after graduation.” 

Forced back into the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s care after being detained on her way home from the laundromat, she has spent months in custody. 

“Renesme feels imprisoned at the shelter where she’s been held for three months in Texas, far from her home in Tennessee,” the lawsuit states. “She is particularly concerned that she’s not receiving academic credit for school and that she will need to repeat 11th grade and will not be able to finish her three-year Junior ROTC certificate.”

Mario C., 17, had been living happily with his mother in Texas since 2023 when he was a passenger in a car pulled over by police last year. He spent three nights in jail and, before his mother could bail him out, was detained by ICE and sent to an Office of Refugee Resettlement shelter in New York.  

“Mario longs to taste his mom’s cooking again and see his baby brother grow up,” the advocacy groups say. “Now back in ORR custody, he is considering foster care placement because his mother does not have the type of U.S.-issued identification newly required by ORR as part of the sponsorship application.”

The boy worries his mother will be detained herself if she pursues the matter.

Benito S., 17, was living with his aunt in Louisiana for more than two years and enjoyed cooking, playing basketball, and spending time with his cousins. He was detained shortly before Christmas. 

His aunt can’t reapply to sponsor him because she also can’t meet the new ID requirements. As a result, Benito is seeking foster care placement and is likely to remain in government custody until he turns 18.

“Benito says that being in ORR custody again is awful,” the lawsuit states. “He is bored and it is difficult for him to focus on anything other than how much he misses his family. He is allowed to listen to some music, like country music, but he is not allowed to listen to the music he loves, like Reggaeton. He is sad and lonely and wants to go home.”