Special Immigrant Juvenile status was created by Congress in 1990 to provide “humanitarian protection for abused, neglected, or abandoned child immigrants.”

After arriving in the U.S., young people who want to apply must go to state juvenile court to request a ruling of abuse, neglect or abandonment by one or both of their parents. They must also be placed in the custody of a legal guardian or in foster care. If the state court approves the request, they can then apply to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the federal agency that manages the nation’s legal immigration system, for the juvenile status.

Although an approval gives young people permission to request a green card, paradoxically, it does not grant them authorization to remain in the country. So most of them must simultaneously fight deportation in immigration court until a green card becomes available.

And green cards are hard to come by.

Some 26,000 young people like this teen are stuck in limbo and vulnerable to deportation, a Marshall Project analysis shows. Nearly all of these young people can expect to wait three or more years to become legal residents because of limits on green cards and court slowdowns due to COVID-19. They are not allowed to work, and depending on the state, may not qualify for medical insurance or in-state tuition. Most of them are fighting deportation in court

Read the full article about the Special Immigrant Juvenile status program by Andrew R. Calderón at The Marshall Project.