S.O.L. v. Senn
Washington
Children’s Rights, McDermott Will & Emery LLP, and Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala filed a lawsuit against the Washington State Department of Children, Youth & Families (DCYF) on behalf of immigrant children placed in Washington’s foster system and Legal Counsel for Youth and Children, a nonprofit that provides direct legal services and advocacy for youth and young adults.
CASE DETAILS
- Venue
- Superior Court of Washington
- Status
- Active
- Filed
- May 4, 2026
- Focus Areas
- Immigration Rights, Government Accountability
The complaint asserts that Washington DCYF is putting the safety and well-being of immigrant youth at risk by failing to inform them or their guardians of their eligibility for immigration status relief, failing to provide necessary services to those who are eligible, and failing to monitor their ongoing immigration proceedings.
The youth represented in the class are legally entitled to various forms of immigration relief. One of these, Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) classification, confers critical benefits to young people. Nearly all immigrant children and youth without legal status in DCYF’s custody are eligible for SIJ classification.
Congress created SIJ classification to provide humanitarian protection for abused, neglected, or abandoned immigrant children and youth eligible for long-term foster care—exactly the group of children in DCYF’s custody—and to provide a pathway for them to obtain lawful permanent resident (LPR) status and United States citizenship.
The lawsuit alleges that DCYF not only lacks policies and practices to safeguard children and youth’s access to permanency, but the agency “discriminates… on the basis of immigration status and citizenship by failing to fulfill its statutory duties to ensure permanency, safety, and stability for immigrant children and youth in its care.”
Pursuing SIJ classification is an urgent matter for Washington children and youth, who must begin the process before they turn 21. Without a path to lawful status, youth who age out of DCYF custody are under constant threat of detention and deportation. They cannot be lawfully employed and cannot access most public benefits. As a result, they face the risk of poverty, exploitation, dependency on abusive adults, and limited socioeconomic mobility—the very harms that SIJ was created to avoid.
The case seeks to establish policies, procedures, and practices to identify youth’s immigration status, address their needs in case planning and transition services, ensure eligible children and youth can quickly seek SIJ and other immigration relief, and provide support for those facing potential removal.
