Texas Civil Rights Project v. Wolf -- Defending due process rights for children seeking refuge in U.S. during COVID19 pandemic

This case, like J.B.B.C. v. Wolf, challenges the Trump administration’s policy of expelling refugees without any of the protections required by the immigration laws, on the ground that they might have Covid-19 infections. The illegality of that policy is especially clear in cases involving minors who arrive unaccompanied by an adult, because they have special legal protections.

In this case, we filed a lawsuit and an emergency motion on July 24, 2020, when we learned of the imminent expulsion of a group of juvenile refugees who were being held at a hotel in McAllen, Texas. But by the time we filed, all but one had already been deported. The one remaining juvenile was transferred to the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which is what’s supposed to happen. We voluntarily dismissed the case on August 6.