NIWAP filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court of California in a case in which the Court of Appeals wrongly denied an SIJS eligible child SIJS predicate findings. The amicus brief developed by Manatt, Phelps and Phillips for NIWAP detailed the legislative and regulatory history of Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and discussed how the approach taken by the Court of Appeals directly contradicts this legislative and regulatory history and the 2022 SIJS regulations issued by DHS. The brief discussed how the courts below incorrectly applies laws of a foreign country when application of California law is required by SIJS regulations, statutes and policies. The brief also discusses how it is impermissible for court to fail to issue SIJS findings when there is uncontroverted credible evidence to support the findings. The California Supreme Court in a unanimous decision with one concurrence adopted the approach advocates by NIWAP’s amicus brief and the 2022 SIJS regulations relied up in the brief (March 21, 2022; August 15, 2022).
Amicus Briefs, Case law, Child welfare, abuse and neglect, Parental Rights, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS)