SIJ Victory in Washington State: Moreno Galvez v. Cuccinelli

Moreno Galvez v. Cuccinelli, Oct. 5, 2020

"[P]laintiffs’ motion for summary judgment and request for permanent injunctive relief (Dkt. #. 64) is GRANTED. Defendants’ cross-motion for summary judgment (Dkt. #66) is DENIED. The Court hereby declares that the 2018 policy requiring Washington state courts to have jurisdiction or authority to “reunify” 18-20 year old youths with their parents before making the relevant SIJ findings is unlawful. The Court further finds that defendants have engaged in a practice of delaying the adjudication of SIJ petitions and that injunctive relief requiring compliance with the 8 U.S.C. §1232(d)(2) is appropriate. Accordingly, the Court HEREBY ORDERS and enjoins defendants as follows: Defendants must adjudicate any SIJ petitions based on a Washington state court order within 180 days of the date that the application is filed by the petitioner (i.e., in the parlance of the proposed rule, the date “the SIJ petition is receipted, as reflected in the receipt notice sent to the SIJ petitioner”). This timeline is inclusive of any requests for additional evidence or notices of intent to deny that USCIS may issue to a petitioner, unless the SIJ petitioner requests additional time to respond to the request/notice and thereby tolls the time in which USCIS must adjudicate the petition. USCIS must provide SIJ petitioners with sufficient time prior to the expiration of the 180 days to respond to the request/notice in an effort to complete final adjudication of the SIJ petition in a timely manner. USCIS may not use the issuance of a request for information or notice of intent to deny for the sole purpose of avoiding the statutory deadline for adjudication of an SIJ petition."

[Hats off to Matt Adams and team at NWIRP!]