Special Juvenile Status: Why Can’t They Get Their Green Cards?
About 26,000 abused and neglected young people must remain effectively undocumented for years, despite being told they can stay in the US.
This article was published in partnership with The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system. Sign up for their newsletter, or follow The Marshall Project on Facebook or Twitter.
She was undocumented for over ten years since arriving in the U.S. from Guatemala with her mother. After gang members killed her father in their home country, she petitioned New York’s juvenile court to declare her “abandoned” by her father. That ruling would allow the then-15-year-old girl to apply for a Special Juvenile Status with a pathway to permanent legal residence.