In Regina’s bedroom, there’s a collection of shoes – about 26, she counted – lined up neatly beneath her bed. There’s a bookshelf tucked away in a corner filled with spines that read Jane Austen and Sylvia Plath, and there’s a whole lot of pink. As she likes to put it, it’s a “girly mess.”
Regina, 19, is one of hundreds of migrant youth in Connecticut who are applying for permanent legal residency through a special juvenile immigration program.
“They say a lot of the times when you aren't able to express yourself when you're little and have a lot of toys, you grow up to have a lot of toys, and that's definitely me,” Regina said.
Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) is a classification available under the federal immigration system for migrants under 21 who have been abused, neglected or abandoned by a parent. It gives many a chance to escape harrowing situations and live legally in the United States.
For Regina, expressing herself in her own space is healing after living a tumultuous childhood in her home country, Mexico, where she endured physical abuse and neglect from her mother.
Young migrants with SIJS have been afforded protection from deportation in the past while they wait for their green card. Regina hopes the status will give her more stability in the years ahead.
But in June, the Trump administration rolled back a policy that shielded SIJS recipients from being removed from the country. She and others could now face deportation, even after documenting the harm they were exposed to by parents.
“I think about all the horrible things these kids have been through,” Regina said. “All the challenges they had to go through, and trauma, to be here… to be at a safe place and then be slapped in the face for wanting to release their dreams. It's so beyond words.”
Growing up in Mexico
Regina’s memories of Mexico involve a lot of moving around. She was born there and lived mostly with her mother and younger brother while her father was living and working in New England.
Connecticut Public is identifying Regina by her first name for her and her family’s safety.
Growing up, Regina said her mother constantly neglected her. At one point, she said, her mother left her and her younger brother home alone for five consecutive days.
Connecticut Public reviewed reports submitted to the probate court by the state Department of Children and Families (DCF) that detailed some of the abuse, including the probate court study and a family case plan.
According to the reports, a DCF social worker determined Regina’s mother was “not an appropriate support or caretaker” because of abuse and neglect.
Regina’s mother “would allegedly beat Regina daily and due to bouts of depression would subject both [children] to lack of food and supervision,” the social worker wrote.
“She wasn’t ever at home. She never took care of us,” Regina said. “To me, it felt like it didn't matter whether we lived or died.”
Regina recalls moments where as a child, she’d climb up onto the kitchen counter with the help of her brother to reach the cereal and milk so they could eat.
“It was a lot of fending for yourself and going about it the way you know how to go about it,” she said.
Oftentimes, Regina said, family members or her mother’s friends would take care of her and her brother. Being home with her mother was also challenging.
“I don't remember my earliest memory with her,” Regina said, speaking about her mom. “I just remember getting yelled at and being hit.”
The DCF report details the alleged abuse through Regina’s testimony, stating that Regina’s mother would beat Regina daily by hitting her with objects, pinching her, clawing her arms, and bruising her.
“I kept thinking this to myself, I was like, next time she hits me, I'm moving with my dad. Next time she hits me, I'm calling my dad,” Regina said. “Every time she hit me, it'd be like, the next time she does it, I'm actually gonna tell her I want to leave. Every single time.”
Regina eventually came to live with her father in Connecticut when she was around 10.
The social worker who reviewed her case determined it isn’t possible to reunite Regina with her mother because of an absence of a parent-child relationship, and because Regina didn’t feel safe with her.
Regina said she and her father tried to find ways to get legal immigration status once she decided to stay in the US with him, but at every consultation with an immigration attorney, they were told they had no good options and turned away.
However, last year, she learned about SIJS from immigration attorney Erin O’Neil, who practices in East Hartford. Regina started the process, and recently reached an important milestone, receiving orders from a probate court judge that grant her father sole guardianship over Regina, and certify her case is eligible to move forward.
What is Special Immigrant Juvenile Status?
Congress created the Special Immigrant Juvenile Status classification in 1990. Those who receive it can become legal permanent residents.
Most people filing for SIJS are in the country without legal status. While a small number may have entered with a visa, the majority have crossed the border without inspection, according to O’Neil.
Before someone can apply, they must first obtain a state court order. In Connecticut, the court order comes after an investigation into the alleged abuse, which is typically conducted by DCF. A state probate judge then reviews the evidence, hears testimony and decides whether the findings support granting an order.
Once that court order is received, applicants are eligible to file for the special status before they turn 21. Officials from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) review the court order and ensure the SIJS classification isn’t primarily being sought to obtain an immigration benefit. If they approve, applicants are then eligible to apply for a green card.
However, most face a long wait. The green card application can't be filed until an immigrant visa is available, a condition that can delay the process by four years or more.
![Glenda Aponte shares good news about a client working with East Hartford immigration attorney Erin O'Neil (right). "Unfortunately, to do this work and file these [SIJS] petitions," said O'Neil, "you're hearing very sad, troubling stories. You know, neglect, abuse, you know, the levels of you know, suffering these kids have gone through is very heartbreaking."](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/6b28e88/2147483647/strip/true/crop/8076x5384+0+0/resize/840x560!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F14%2Fa8%2Fc3def7264b959b959089a5e94bb6%2F250724erinoneil-mma0626.jpg)
Because of the long wait times, the Biden administration in 2022 implemented a policy that protected SIJS recipients from deportation by automatically granting most deferred action and authorization to work.
But in June, USCIS rolled back the policy, announcing it would no longer automatically consider granting deferred action to new SIJS recipients. The protection remains in place for those who already have it, though federal officials can revoke it at their discretion, and it may expire before a visa becomes available.
Criticisms of the program
The policy change comes amid criticism from the Trump administration that migrants are exploiting the program.
Petitions for SIJS have surged since 2022, both nationwide and in Connecticut.
Nationally, petitions for SIJS went from around 22,000 in fiscal year 2017 to about 68,000 in fiscal year 2024, according to a USCIS report on the program.
Connecticut’s probate courts have seen a similar spike. In fiscal year 2016, there were 142 petitions for the special status. By fiscal year 2024, that number grew to 1,730.
The increase was particularly sharp in recent years. In fiscal year 2022, the period when the Biden-era policy was enacted, there were 783 petitions, and in the following fiscal year the number of petitions jumped to 1,423, according to data provided by the Office of the Probate Court Administrator.
Records show courts in Stamford, Danbury and New Haven recently saw the highest volume of special immigrant juvenile cases, receiving more than 200 petitions each in a single year.
Last month, federal immigration authorities released a report detailing alleged abuses of the program.
It highlighted the drastic increase in petitions and raised concerns about age and identity fraud and false claims of parental maltreatment. USCIS said it also identified 853 known or suspected gang members who filed for SIJS.
“This report exposes how the open border lobby and activist judges are exploiting loopholes in the name of aiding helpless children,” USCIS spokesman Matthew J. Tragesser said in a written statement.
The report also pointed out that more than half of applicants are over the age of 18, implying that the program is not helping the children it’s meant to.
“Right now, this program is growing way farther than it should have been allowed to and allowing people to take advantage of this visa for purposes that are far from the cases of abused kids,” said Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington D.C. think tank that advocates for less immigration.
“They're just using it to get a green card when they wouldn't otherwise qualify in any other way,” Vaughan said.
But O’Neil, Regina’s immigration lawyer, disagrees. She said SIJS cases are thoroughly vetted by an independent state court.
“It's not something that's forged,” O’Neil said. “It's not something that's made up."
Maegan Faitsch, an attorney who works with SIJS applicants at Connecticut Legal Services, said she was discouraged by the report. She said most of her clients are unaware of the program before she meets them.
“I'm sure that there are people that have used the program in a way that it was not set out for, but I think that in my mind, that does not mean that the program should not exist,” Faitsch said. “It means that there should be qualified attorneys helping people access the program.”
David Marantz, an attorney of child protection, juvenile law and criminal practice in Stamford, acknowledges some of the issues described in the report. He said he believes the availability of special juvenile status encourages some migrants to enter the country, exposing them to potential safety risks on their journey to cross the border.
“You know, that's a double-edged sword,” Marantz said. “You feel for people, you want to help them, but it also sends out the word to encourage more of it.”
However, Marantz said most clients who seek his help with SIJS petitions have valid claims.
"They seem extremely legitimate," he said, "and I don't think it's an abuse of the process that I've seen very often. And really, at this point, over the years, I've handled quite a few cases, and I really don't see that."
What's next for SIJS?
A pending federal lawsuit challenges the Trump administration’s policy changes to SIJS.
Attorneys representing migrant children filed the suit in the Eastern District of New York, according to The Associated Press. The plaintiffs are asking a federal judge to restore these children’s deportation protections.
For now, Regina said she is holding out hope to one day receive her green card as she files for the special status. She hopes other migrant youth in Connecticut who have faced abuse and neglect will do the same.
“That's something that I want to pass on,” Regina said. “You can do things because you have gotten this far. You can do things even if you're doing them scared.”
