U.S. Department of Homeland Security
06/03/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/03/2026 13:20
USCIS Reveals Rampant Fraud Among Juvenile Immigrant Claims
USCIS Reveals Rampant Fraud Among Juvenile Immigrant Claims
Release Date: June 3, 2026
From Fiscal Year 2013 through 2025, nearly 19,000 Special Immigrant Juvenile petitioners had criminal arrest records
WASHINGTON - The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued the following statement after DHS General Counsel James Percival asked state court judges to take greater steps to combat rampant fraud in the Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) process run by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
The SIJ classification provides a pathway to lawful permanent resident (LPR) status, and ultimately naturalization, for illegal alien minors under the age of 21 who have been abused, neglected, or abandoned by either one parent or both parents.
However, the SIJ system is at great risk of fraud that, if not properly policed by state court judges, can allow dangerous criminals into our country. A recent report by the USCIS's Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate (FDNS), covering SIJ data from Fiscal Years 2013 through 2025, discovered that nearly 19,000 SIJ petitioners had criminal arrest records, including 120 for murder. At least 200 approved SIJ petitioners were convicted of sex offenses, while more than 500 were known or suspected members of MS-13 and more than 100 were known or suspected members of the 18th Street gang.
Some examples include:
The leader of a New York chapter of MS-13, who later pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in connection with his participation in EIGHT murders in New York.
A Trinitarios gang member who participated in a drive-by shooting that killed two people and wounded five others. This individual also participated in previous shootings of rival gang members in Lynn, Massachusetts in February and May of 2023. His SIJ petition was approved in June of 2023, AFTER he had committed these crimes.
Four members of the same MS-13 clique in Virginia, who were indicted in 2023 and 2024 for their participation in racketeering conspiracies involving multiple murders, including the murder of a 19-year-old woman who was shot 16 times for insulting the gang on social media.
"While the SIJ program advances important congressional objectives, it is at significant risk of fraud," said DHS General Counsel James Percival. "Frequently, there is no underlying child protective services or similar investigation into the child's circumstances. Instead, aliens who wish to remain in the United States forever can obtain these orders without meaningfully demonstrating that they meet the requirements because judges are unaware of the need to vet the claims. The failure of state court judges to police the requirements of the SIJ process leads to tangible harm. It allows criminals, gang members, and even suspected terrorists to obtain lawful status while eroding trust and diverting resources away from genuinely vulnerable children."
Much of the fraud that occurs in the SIJ program is only possible because state court judges who are not aware of the risks grant predicate orders in a non-adversarial and pro forma fashion. In some jurisdictions, judges issue SIJ predicate orders without even holding a hearing.
By eliminating fraud in this system, the SIJ program can return to its original purpose of only admitting those who have legitimate claims of abuse, neglect, or abandonment. Rigorous judicial review practices can help ensure that SIJ projections reach the children the law was designed to protect, while preventing misuse by those who pose risks to public safety.
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