Last September, the Department of Homeland Security started advising unaccompanied immigrant children that they could either self-deport or expect to face long-term detention. According to court documents, the legal advisal was given to recently detained immigrant children. The advisal, though generally passed on verbally, was written out in court documents by lawyers representing the immigrant children, which the government did not dispute. Fitzgerald, a judge in the Central District of California, also denied a request by the federal government to end the permanent court-mandated safeguards for immigrant children altogether. The agency said the advisal document explains to unaccompanied children their options available under federal law.

Source: Los Angeles Times April 11, 2026 20:31 UTC