Perez-Funez, et al. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, et al.

Case Overview

In 1985, a federal court ordered the federal government to provide unaccompanied children with basic procedural safeguards to prevent their unlawful removal from the United States. As a result of this order, unaccompanied children continue to receive written notice of the right to a hearing in immigration court and access to a telephone to call a responsible adult or lawyer.

In December 2025, the Trump administration filed a motion asking the federal court to terminate this court order. They argue that new laws make the court order unnecessary, and they promise to give children a different written notice that, according to them, better explains their legal options. But a notice created by the Trump administration threatens children with “prolonged” detention if they seek a hearing with an Immigration Judge or even express fear of returning to their home country.

NILC, along with Public Counsel, attorney Gilbert Carrasco, and the law firms Quinn Emanuel Sullivan Urquhart & Sullivan, and Cohen Millstein Sellers & Toll, are defending the court order to ensure that unaccompanied children continue to receive the basic protections to which they have been entitled for more than 40 years.

For legal inquiries, please contact [email protected]