(c) Farhad Sethna, Attorney, 2026

The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) has begun issuing decisions at a rapid pace since the Trump administration took office. Prior (and perhaps those considered liberal) judges on the BIA were replaced by other judges who the Trump administration considered more aligned with the President’s “priorities”.

It is no surprise then, that the BIA hammers out decisions which are noticeably anti-immigrant in character. The BIA is on overdrive in this regard. In past years, the BIA issued an average of 30 published decisions each year. In 2025, the BIA published approximately 70 decisions, and in 2026, to date, over 77 precedential decisions have issued, with five months yet to go in the calendar!

While the BIA has been taking aim at immigrants all across the spectrum, perhaps most hurtful is its targeting of special immigrant juveniles (SIJs). As the name suggests, SIJs are children. The special immigrant juvenile status was granted to children by the immigration law if that child had either only one parent and could not be safely reunited with the other, or had no parents at all. For SIJ status to be granted, a state court in the USA would first have to make a finding of abuse, dependency or neglect for that alien child and then appoint a guardian. Thereafter, the child would have to petition the USCIS for SIJ status.

Once USCIS granted such status, the typical procedure was that the child would wait until an immigrant visa became available and then apply for permanent residency in the United States.

The Board upended this practice. In Matter of Cahuec Tzalam, 29 I&N Dec. 300 (BIA 2025), the Board held that an alien child whose case was pending before the USCIS could not seek administrative closure of his or her removal case and would have to defend himself in immigration court. Never mind that this was a child. Never mind that the child has understandably very scarce or no resources at all, and that the child lacks one or both parents. Never mind that a state court has already determined that the child already qualifies for state protection, the necessary prerequisite for SIJ status. Never mind that the child has a pending application with the USCIS. Never mind that there is a specific regulation which permits immigration judges to grant SIJ cases administrative closure while their applications are pending at the USCIS.

No, none of that matters to the BIA. All that matters is that the awful machinery of deportation must keep grinding on. Children? No problem. Deport them.

To be sure, the kids who are able to defend themselves will not be immediately deported. But, they will have to mount expensive defenses in immigration court, and then appeal any negative decisions at the BIA, and possibly later at the circuit court. All while waiting for an immigrant visa which is legally available to them, but for lengthy visa backlogs. And the kids who can’t mount a defense? Gone back to a country where there is no responsible adult to protect them.

While the administration has been cruel and inhumane to adults, as we have seen over the past year and a half, the depths of its cruelty still remain un-plumbed. The assault on defenseless children is yet another telling example of this administration’s limitless and needless cruelty.

It is hypocritical that our leaders, who garb themselves in “Judeo-Christian” values and hawk special editions of the Holy Bible forget its directives, one of which is especially appropriate here:

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly father”. Matthew 18:10

 

© Farhad Sethna, Attorney, 2026

Farhad Sethna has practiced law for over 30 years. He was awarded his JD in 1990 and his MBA in 1991, both from the University of Akron. Since 1996, he has also been an adjunct professor of Immigration Law at the University of Akron, School of Law, in Akron, Ohio, where he wrote and continues to use his own immigration textbook. Attorney Sethna is a frequent speaker at Continuing Legal Education and professional development seminars on various immigration-related topics. His practice is limited to immigration and small business. He has won awards for excellence in teaching and for pro-bono service. With offices in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, Attorney Sethna represents clients in all types of immigration cases before federal agencies and the immigration courts nationwide. A private pilot, it is Farhad’s goal to fly to each of Ohio’s 88 county airports. Our number is: (330) 384-8000. Please send your general immigration questions to farhad@sethnalaw.com. We will try to answer as many questions as possible.