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Councilmember Brooke Pinto 2
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A PROPOSED RESOLUTION 5
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 9
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To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend Chapter 3 of Title 13 13
of the District of Columbia Official Code to provide that publication may be substituted 14
for personal service of process for appointments of a vulnerable youth guardian in certain 15
circumstances; and to amend Chapter 23 of Title 16 of the District of Columbia Official 16
Code to authorize the Family Division of the Superior Court to appoint, modify, and 17
terminate a new class of legal guardianship for vulnerable youth. 18
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RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 20
resolution may be cited as the “Vulnerable Youth Guardianship Protection Emergency 21
Declaration Resolution of 2024”. 22
Sec. 2 (a) Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (“SIJS”) is a special humanitarian visa 23
established by the federal government covering abused, neglected, or abandoned immigrant 24
youth under age 21. If approved, those granted SIJS are authorized to work, maintain a Social 25
Security Number, receive assistance for housing and education, and eventually apply for lawful 26
permanent residency, making SIJS an important legal lifeline for vulnerable immigrant youth, 27
especially undocumented immigrant youth. 28
(b) Under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(27)(J), to apply for a SIJS visa, an applicant must be an 29
unmarried noncitizen under 21 years of age, be presently residing in the United States, and 30
possess a juvenile court order from a state court. The court order must find that: 31
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(1) The petitioner is dependent on the court or under custody of a state agency, 32
department, or court-appointed guardian; 33
(2) The petitioner has suffered from abuse, neglect, abandonment, or other related 34
reason that makes reunification with the petitioner’s parents impossible; and 35
(3) It is in the best interest of the petitioner not to return to the previous country of 36
nationality or the country of the last habitual residence of the petitioner or of the petitioner’s 37
parents. 38
(c) Despite the intended reach of this humanitarian visa, a number of eligible immigrant 39
youth in the District may be unable to access these critical protections due to an inconsistency 40
between District law and federal law. Under current District law, the Superior Court of the 41
District of Columbia lacks authority over unmarried noncitizens who are at least 18 but younger 42
than 21 that would be consistent with federal SIJS petition requirements. Specifically, the court 43
does not have authority over these youth except in certain extremely limited circumstances, such 44
as the youth being under the care of the Child and Family Service Agency or being legally found 45
to have been subjected to neglect. 46
(d) Because the court’s authority over unmarried noncitizens who are at least age 18 but 47
younger than 21 is limited, the court has no legal mechanism to issue the orders necessary to 48
allow a number of eligible youth to apply for SIJS, even though federally SIJS petitioners are 49
allowed to petition until the age of 21. The court also lacks the necessary authority to appoint 50
guardians to unmarried noncitizens who are at least age 18 but younger than 21, which can be a 51
necessary component of the SIJS petition. This lack of authority prevents many immigrant youth 52
in the District (and in particular undocumented immigrant youth) who have suffered from abuse, 53
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abandonment, or neglect from obtaining relief from that past mistreatment by accessing these 54
critical federal protections as intended. 55
(e) There is a pressing need to address the lack of access to federal protections and lack 56
of accessible guardianship appointments for immigrant youth, one of the District’s most 57
vulnerable populations. Child welfare organizations, advocacy groups, and experts testified at the 58
Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety’s June 8, 2023, hearing on the Vulnerable Youth 59
Guardianship Protection Amendment Act of 2023, as introduced on January 19, 2023 (Bill 25-60
44) (“permanent bill”), that immigrant youth without the critical supports of guardianship are 61
especially vulnerable to abuses such as human trafficking and housing insecurity. SIJS visas 62
allow for the material benefits of access to employment, the procurement of a Social Security 63
number, healthcare, assistance with housing and education, and eventually the possibility of 64
applying for lawful permanent residency. The stability and safety that SIJS affords immigrant 65
youth also fosters their emotional, psychological, and physical well-being by providing them 66
with a stable and supportive schooling environment, community, and household. With the 67
protections of a court appointed guardian, youth will not be forced to move from their friends 68
and communities to other jurisdictions to try to access SIJS protections. SIJS thus importantly 69
shields immigrant youth from emotional and psychological suffering, exploitation and abuse, 70
involvement in illegal activity, material instability, and housing insecurity. Advocates testified 71
that they must turn away several youths on a monthly basis because of this ongoing 72
misalignment in District and federal law and that even eligible youth close to the cutoff age of 18 73
find it difficult to obtain a pro bono attorney with the expertise to rapidly prepare and file the 74
necessary legal documents. 75
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(f) It is estimated that more than one third of unaccompanied immigrant youth coming to 76
the United States have already reached 17 years of age , meaning that when these youth arrive in 77
the District they are already on the verge of aging out of Superior Court authority should they 78
wish to seek federal relief under SIJS while residing in the District. This misalignment between 79
the District and federal law means that, absent Council action, a class of vulnerable District 80
immigrant youth will be unable to seek legal relief afforded to them by federal law and will be 81
unable to seek the care and support of a guardianship appointment while living in the District. 82
(g) On July 11, 2023, the Council passed emergency and temporary versions of the 83
Vulnerable Youth Guardianship Protection Amendment Act of 2023. The temporary law (D.C. 84
Act 25-227; 70 DCR 13754), is due to expire on July 10, 2024. The Council passed a permanent 85
version, Bill 25- 44, on May 7, 2024; the Mayor signed the bill on May 29, 2024. The permanent 86
version is currently undergoing congressional review. Since congressional review will not be 87
complete prior to the temporary law without new emergency legislation, there will likely be a 88
gap in the law. As a result, emergency legislation is necessary to fill the gap. 89
(h) This emergency bill mirrors the permanent version of the bill in incorporating minor 90
technical tweaks and one substantive change not included in the expiring temporary law, namely 91
the elimination of fees for filing guardianship petitions. 92
Sec. 3. The Council determines that the circumstances enumerated in section 2 constitute 93
emergency circumstances making it necessary that the Vulnerable Youth Guardianship 94
Protection Emergency Amendment Act of 2024 be adopted after a single reading. 95
Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately. 96