Angelica S. v. HHS
In May 2025, the National Center for Youth Law and co-counsel Democracy Forward filed Angelica S. v. HHS, which challenges new U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) policies that have resulted in the separation of families and the prolonged detention of unaccompanied children in federal immigration custody.
Despite a notable decline in unaccompanied child arrivals, the average length of detention for children discharged from government custody has significantly increased. Children who would previously have been released to a family member within days or weeks are now indefinitely stuck in government custody, potentially for many months or even years.
The complaint seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, arguing that HHS’s March 25, 2025 Interim Final Rule unlawfully rescinds key protections in the 2024 Unaccompanied Children Program Foundational Rule, and that new sponsor-documentation requirements violate both the agency’s statutory mandate and procedural safeguards.
The plaintiffs include five children who remain in government custody despite having family members willing and able to care for them, as well as Immigrant Defenders Law Center, a nonprofit organization that provides legal services to immigrants, including unaccompanied children.
On June 9, the Court issued a preliminary injunction and provisionally certified a class which includes “all unaccompanied children who were in or transferred to the custody of HHS on or before April 22, 2025, and who (a) have or had a potential sponsor who has been identified; and (b) the sponsor’s family reunification application has been denied, closed, withdrawn, delayed, or cannot be completed because the sponsor is missing documents newly required on or after March 7, 2025.”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 preliminary injunction prohibits ORR from using the challenged policies in adjudicating class members’ sponsor applications. A practice advisory on the preliminary injunction can be found here.