Thousands of Young Migrants Could Be Detained Without Bond in the U.S.

BIA Decision Removes Access to Bond

SIJ Faces New Risk

Fear of Deportations Grows

The Board of Immigration Appeals, known as the BIA, issued a decision that could affect thousands of young immigrants who arrived alone in the United States and could now face detention.

The measure affects those who crossed the border without an accompanying adult and were not formally admitted into the country. According to the decision, they must remain in immigration custody without access to release on bond.

The restriction applies even to those with special protections such as Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, known as SIJ. The ruling was issued Tuesday by the BIA.

This body reviews decisions made by immigration courts and officials from the Department of Homeland Security, or DHS.

According to the ruling, a prior classification as an unaccompanied child, or UAC, does not change custody status. Nor does an approved SIJ petition give a judge authority to review or modify detention.

The decision applies to people who have not been officially admitted into the United States.

Young Immigrants Could Remain Detained

A decision by the U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals orders that young people who crossed the border alone and were not admitted must remain detained by immigration authorities without the right to release on bond.

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Immigration attorney Nicolette Glazer warned that, depending on how the decision is implemented, thousands of immigrant minors could be exposed to immigration detention and eventually deportation proceedings.

SIJ was created by the U.S. Congress in 1990 as a humanitarian protection intended for minors who have been victims of abuse, neglect, mistreatment, or abandonment by one or both parents.

Applications are evaluated by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, known as USCIS, and must be resolved within 180 days.

When a petition is approved, the beneficiary receives authorization to remain in the United States and can begin the process of applying for permanent residency.

Thousands of Young People Await Available Visas

Young immigrants detention without bond in the US. Photo ChatGPT

Although SIJ approval represents an important step forward, beneficiaries must wait until visas become available before completing the immigration process.

Because of limits established by law, this wait can last for years, according to El País.

According to USCIS figures, during the first half of fiscal year 2025, between October 2024 and March 2025, the agency received 39,376 SIJ applications.

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During that same period, 31,183 cases were approved. However, 25,046 petitions were still pending.

If an applicant is deported before completing the process, they lose the possibility of continuing with their SIJ application and also with their path toward permanent residency.

This is not the first time there has been an attempt to restrict this program.

In 2025, USCIS promoted a measure that sought to eliminate this status, but it was suspended after a lawsuit resolved in a federal district court in New York.

Concerns Grow Over Young Immigrants Detention

Glazer explained that, under this new BIA interpretation, young people with pending applications who end up in ICE custody would have only one path to seek release.

The alternative would be to file a habeas corpus petition in federal court to challenge the legality of the detention.

“What this administration is doing is eliminating every trace of protection,” the attorney said.

She also said the decision will likely be challenged in court.

The resolution comes amid a detention and deportation policy promoted by Donald Trump’s government.

According to Glazer, the measure could push these young people to face their processes from detention centers or even abandon their cases and return to their countries of origin.

The detention of SIJ beneficiaries or applicants has already been documented before.

One reported case was that of Carlos Guerra, an 18-year-old Guatemalan who had lived in New York since he was 10.

In October 2025, he was detained by ICE agents while on his way to work.

By then, he had been waiting for three years for the visa linked to his SIJ process.

He was later transferred to a detention center in Louisiana, where he remained for two months.

American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, attorney Nora Ahmed described the situation at the time as “family separation 2.0” and criticized the emotional impact that a detention has on minors and young immigrants.