Proposed Class Action Settlement Agreement: J.O.P. v. DHS (Asylum; Unaccompanied Children)

USCIS, Sept. 4, 2024 - "This notice is to tell you about a proposed Settlement Agreement of a class action lawsuit, J.O.P. et al. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, et al., Case No. 8:19-cv-01944-SAG, pending in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. The Court has granted preliminary approval of the proposed Settlement Agreement and has set a Final Approval Hearing (referred to as a Fairness Hearing in the proposed Settlement Agreement) to take place on November 25, 2024 at 10:00am ET in Courtroom 7C, Edward A. Garmatz U.S. Courthouse, 101 West Lombard Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, to decide if the proposed Settlement Agreement is fair, reasonable, and adequate."

NIPNLG, Sept. 5, 2024: "The class notices in English and Spanish and the proposed agreement can be found on the National Immigration Project’s website, on Public Counsel’s website, and on KIND’s website.  It is crucial that practitioners working with asylum seekers watch for updates in this case. Once the court approves the settlement there will be an 89-day deadline by which people with unaccompanied child (UC) determinations who no longer meet the UC definition must file asylum applications with USCIS in order to become class members and lock in the benefits of the settlement agreement. Class counsel will post updates to this list, and you can also monitor developments on the National Immigration Project’s J.O.P. webpage.  If you have questions concerning the settlement agreement, or if you believe that USCIS or the ICE Office of the Principal Legal Advisor has violated the existing December 2020 preliminary injunction in your client’s case, do not hesitate to reach out to class counsel. You can reach out to class counsel by emailing DG-JOPClassCounsel@goodwinlaw.com.  Please stay tuned for updates about the settlement approval process."