Contact:
media@amicacenter.org
media@immdef.org
press@justiceactioncenter.org
***MEDIA ADVISORY on federal district court preliminary injunction hearing in CLSEPA v. HHS.***
WHEN: April 24, 2025; at 9am PT // 11am CT // noon ET
SAN FRANCISCO—Today, a federal district court heard oral arguments in Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto (CLSEPA) v. HHS to weigh whether to grant a preliminary injunction (PI) to protect critical legal services for unaccompanied immigrant children.
The court granted an emergency Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) on April 1, 2025. However, the government has not complied with the TRO, leaving tens of thousands of children to fend for themselves alone in immigration court, putting them at risk of being deported back to the dangerous conditions they were fleeing in the first place.
Co-counsel and plaintiffs are fighting against a clear violation of federal law under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act and the government’s own regulations.
Join us tomorrow to hear from direct service attorneys who specialize in representing unaccompanied children on the devastating impact that the government’s termination of these critical programs have inflicted upon them.
Speakers:
- Adina Appelbaum, Program Director, Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, co-counsel & plaintiff
- Laura St. John, Legal Director, Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project, plaintiff
- Karen Tumlin, Founder and Director, Justice Action Center, co-counsel
- Alvaro M. Huerta, Director of Litigation & Advocacy, Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef), co-counsel & plaintiff
- Mariam Kelly, Pro Bono Director, Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto, plaintiff