Attorney General Bonta Leads Multistate Coalition in Opposing HHS Rollback of Protections for Unaccompanied Children

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today, leading a coalition of 19 attorneys general, submitted comments opposing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) interim final rule that makes significant changes to the 2024 Unaccompanied Children Program Foundational Rule (Foundational Rule). In their letter, the attorneys general express their strong concern with the interim final rule’s removal of provisions prohibiting the Office of Refugee Resettlement from: (1) disqualifying potential sponsors for unaccompanied children based solely on their immigration status, (2) collecting information on the immigration status of potential sponsors for law enforcement or immigration enforcement related purposes, and (3) sharing immigration status information about sponsors with law enforcement and immigration enforcement related entities. The coalition argues that these changes will deter prospective sponsors, many of whom are parents or close relatives, from coming forward to sponsor unaccompanied children, prolonging the time these children spend in federal custody.

“As Attorney General, I’m committed to ensuring all children — including immigrant children — have a safe, caring environment to call home,” said Attorney General Bonta. “The changes HHS seeks to implement would do nothing for unaccompanied children but prolong their stay in federal custody and reduce the availability of safe, protected homes. Many of the sponsors that would be disqualified by these changes are parents or close relatives of these children. I urge HHS to keep these families together and reconsider this damaging, and potentially unlawful, rule.”

Attorney General Bonta and the multistate coalition have a strong interest in protecting the rights of unaccompanied immigrant children, as many of these children will eventually be released to sponsors in their states. In fiscal year 2024, approximately 10,800 unaccompanied children were released to sponsors in California — 11 percent of all unaccompanied children released to sponsors that year and the second-highest number of released children after Texas. These children become important members of their communities, students in their schools, and eventually, parents of their own families. Forcing these children to spend prolonged time in federal custody will make it more difficult for them to thrive in their communities upon release. A robust body of research shows that prolonged time in immigration custody is particularly harmful for children’s physical and mental health and disrupts their development.

In the comment letter, the attorneys general express their strong concern with both the substance of HHS’s rulemaking and HHS’s decision to make this significant regulatory change through an interim final rule rather than providing notice and sufficient opportunity for the public to comment, as required under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). HHS has failed to adequately justify its determination that there is good cause to exempt this action from the APA’s notice and comment requirements.

Unaccompanied children already within our borders need more protection, not less. Attorney General Bonta previously led a multistate coalition in support of the Foundational Rule’s expansion of protections for unaccompanied children that have now been rescinded. In today’s letter, a similar coalition urges HHS to withdraw the interim final rule and provide the public with notice and the opportunity to comment on any future proposal to rescind these protections. 

In sending the comment letter, Attorney General Bonta leads the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.

A copy of the letter can be found here.