Abstract
Immigration and family are central to American society, with family reunification long recognized as a core principle of United States immigration policy. Family-based preference visas reflect this priority. Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) provides a pathway to lawful permanent resident status for immigrant children who have been abused, neglected, or abandoned by one or both parents. However, individuals who obtain legal status through SIJS are permanently barred from petitioning on behalf of their natural or prior adoptive parent. This restriction applies to children’s non-abusive custodial parents and leaves children who have obtained SIJS vulnerable to having that parent deported due to the parent’s lack of lawful immigration status. Thus, the current SIJS framework threatens the United States’ longstanding commitment to family values and reunification. Recent events under the Trump administration have brought immigration and the controversy surrounding it to the forefront of political and moral discourse in the United States, making it increasingly important that this unconstitutional provision be addressed. This Note argues that denying individuals who obtain citizenship in the United States through the Special Immigrant Juvenile classification the right to petition on behalf of non-abusive parents violates their substantive due process rights. To ensure that SIJ recipients receive the full protections guaranteed by the Constitution, this Note proposes amending section 101(a)(27)(J)(iii)(II) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to permit such individuals to petition on behalf of their non-abusive custodial parents.
Recommended Citation
Ava Hansen,
Family Matters: Granting Legal Status to Non-Abusive Parents Under SIJS,
91 Brook. L. Rev.
1375
(2026).
Available at:
https://brooklynworks.brooklaw.edu/blr/vol91/iss4/6