An 18-year-old immigrant youth who has been abused, neglected, or abandoned by one or both parents and resides in Minnesota¹ or Maine² (as well as several other states) can apply for immigration status through Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) based on this parental maltreatment. However, in Michigan, that same young person would be foreclosed from such immigration relief because of a gap between Michigan and federal law.

Michigan probate courts generally lose jurisdiction to establish guardianships and appoint guardians for youth by their 18th birthday.³ Without such jurisdiction, the probate court cannot make the critical findings, which only state courts have the authority to make, needed for vulnerable youth to apply for SIJS and receive immigration-related protections.

The Court of Appeals confronted this barrier in a recent unpublished decision, In re EAHC.⁴ In EAHC, a Guatemalan youth’s guardian sought SIJS findings for him based on his father being incarcerated, his mother’s inability to provide adequate food and clothing, and his need to work under dangerous work conditions that subjected him to serious injury while in his mother’s care.⁵ The probate court dismissed the guardianship proceeding, without making SIJS findings, when EAHC turned 18 years old because no exceptions to extend guardianship jurisdiction applied.⁶ The Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal, making clear that “no Michigan statute addresses the jurisdiction of a trial court when the guardianship of a minor terminates before a trial court fulfills a request for SIJ findings.”⁷ The Court of Appeals highlighted the issue that “[o]ther states have implemented statutes to specifically address this matter, but Michigan has not.”⁸

To avoid repeating the unjust result, as seen in EAHC, extending jurisdiction in guardianship proceedings is the clear legislative answer to remedying this serious gap in protection impacting countless immigrant youth.

Indeed, as Michigan families have welcomed unaccompanied immigrant minors,⁹ who are children in the United States without a parent or legal guardian but settled with relatives and other caregivers in counties across the state, the need to establish guardianship with their caretaker and to seek legal status becomes imperative. Having an appointed guardian and legal status will provide these youth with the necessary resources and support in addition to court protection and the stability and security they desperately need to best prepare for their futures, as well as ensure that they can safely stay in their new secure homes in Michigan.

Due to language, economic, and legal barriers, among other challenges, such as the difficulty of overcoming the trauma they experienced in their home countries, many young people in Michigan are not able to obtain the legal help they need and get into court by their 18th birthday to establish these guardianships and seek SIJS findings. Therefore, the status quo limiting the probate court’s jurisdiction to establish guardianships before age 18 forever closes the door to applying for SIJS for these vulnerable youth who may otherwise qualify for SIJS and may have a pathway toward citizenship. Instead, they are denied protection from deportation and the opportunity to obtain lawful work authorization, which would allow them to fully contribute to both their communities and Michigan’s economy. Without protection, these youth may become targets for trafficking and other types of labor exploitation¹⁰ or are at risk of being deported to their home countries, where many have experienced physical and sexual abuse, and gang violence.¹¹ As such, the existing gap between Michigan and federal law prevents young people from seeking relief that could drastically change their lives and positively impact our state.

Since 1990, SIJS has been a pathway for permanent immigration status for abused, neglected, and abandoned immigrant children in the United States.¹² While previously limited to immigrant youth in foster care, Congress expanded this humanitarian protection to abused, neglected, and abandoned children who have been declared a dependent of the court or placed in the custody of an in dividual appointed by the court, such as in family custody cases or guardianship proceedings.¹³ The purpose is to prevent deportation of more at-risk children and provide them a pathway to permanent residency and even citizenship.¹⁴ Importantly, immigrant youth can qualify and apply for this status up until their 21st birthday,¹⁵ which means youth 18 to 20 are to receive these protections as well.

Currently, there is a waitlist for SIJS-eligible youth to apply for permanent residency, but in an effort to “further [the] congressional intent to provide humanitarian protection” to these young people, the agency responsible for granting this status, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”), has implemented a new policy to provide these youth with deferred action–a type of protection against deportation–for four years and employment authorization.¹⁶ Therefore, young people barred from applying for SIJS are also denied more immediate protection from deportation and work permits, which are especially crucial protections for 18- to 20-year-olds in the critical stages of pursuing educational and career paths.

Notably, unlike all other pathways for immigration status, to apply for SIJS, Congress mandated that state courts must first make findings applying its own state law to determine whether the immigrant child or youth can reunify with one or both parents due to abuse, neglect, abandonment, or a similar legal reason, and whether it would be contrary to their best interest to return to their home country.¹⁷ “[T]he process for obtaining SIJ status is a unique hybrid procedure that directs the collaboration of state and federal systems.”¹⁸ Only after these findings are made will a child be eligible to apply for SIJS,¹⁹ thereby underscoring the important role Michigan courts play in protecting immigrant children who have experienced abuse, neglect, or abandonment and preventing them from enduring further serious harm in the future.

Michigan courts now handling family and guardianship matters make SIJS findings in cases throughout the state,²⁰ and probate courts will be readily equipped also to make these findings for 18 to 20-year-olds if they receive the authority to do so.²¹ A young person’s need for a custodial figure in their lives indeed does not end at age 18.²² This is especially true for immigrant youth, who are still adjusting to a new language, culture, and home. From medical and housing issues, to educational, employment, and financial decisions, these young people will be better prepared to tackle the problems and obstacles they face in their daily lives when they have a guardian to support them. Indeed, as highlighted by the California legislature, extending the state court’s jurisdiction to establish initial guardianships past a youth’s 18th birthday is necessary:

Given the recent influx of unaccompanied immigrant children arriving to the United States, many of whom have been released to family members and other adults in California and have experienced parental abuse, neglect, or abandonment, it is necessary to provide an avenue for these unaccompanied children to petition the probate courts to have a guardian of the person appointed beyond reaching 18 years of age. This is particularly necessary in light of the vulnerability of this class of unaccompanied youth, and their need for a custodial relationship with a responsible adult as they adjust to a new cultural context, language, and education system, and recover from the trauma of abuse, neglect, or abandonment. These custodial arrangements promote permanency and the long-term well-being of immigrant children present in the United States who have experienced abuse, neglect, or abandonment.²³

Given the importance of establishing these custodial relationships from youth ages 18 to 20, in recent years, many states enacted legislation extending guardianship jurisdiction to cover youth aged 18 to 20 and thus aligning state and federal law for SIJS. These include Minnesota,²⁴ California,²⁵ and Maine,²⁶ as identified above, and others like Illinois,²⁷ Oregon,²⁸ Washington,²⁹ Colorado,³⁰ Hawaii,³¹ Maryland,³² New Mexico,³³ Massachusetts,³⁴ and Vermont.³⁵ The District of Columbia recently joined these jurisdictions in July 2024³⁶ and it is hoped that the movement to protect vulnerable youth will continue to grow. All these legislative changes³⁷ not only provide ample examples in considering, adopting, and implementing new legislation to support at-risk immigrant youth but also demonstrate how these modest legislative initiatives to expand access to state courts have significant positive impacts on the lives of thousands of young people across the United States.

Today, Michigan likewise has an unmistakable opportunity to remedy the problem seen in EAHC and improve the lives and futures of these young people by enacting legislation to allow immigrant youth ages 18 to 20 to establish a guardianship with a trusted caretaker. By extending jurisdiction in guardianship proceedings, Michigan’s state court jurisdiction will also align with federal SIJS eligibility and maintain protections for young people eligible for this special protective status, which benefits them, their communities, and our state.