HB 15 Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) Classification Act Signed by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham
Contact: Jessica Martinez Legal Expert for HB15 | (575) 386-1885 | jmartinez@nmilc.org
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Today Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed HB 15, The Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) Classification Act (the Act), marking a critical step forward in protecting immigrant youth in New Mexico. Undocumented youth and children living in New Mexico are now eligible to obtain special findings from state court judges and apply for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) up until the age of 21. SIJS is a unique immigration remedy that allows immigrant children within the state who cannot reunify with one or both parents due to abuse, neglect, or abandonment to pursue lawful permanent residency. This law now aligns New Mexico state law with the SIJS federal statute. This change makes NM the eighteenth state to do this.
HB 15 creates the following changes in law:
Updates New Mexico state law to reflect federal immigration law to expand the court age-out deadline to the age of 21 for “Special Immigrant Juvenile” cases.
Positively impacts the lives of qualifying immigrant youth and children who are abused, abandoned, or neglected by one or both parents that would qualify under federal law, but prior to today, did not have access to this unique form of relief based on their age.
Creates positive generational change by allowing vulnerable immigrant children to obtain SIJS and its protections: access to healthcare, educational opportunities, deferred action (protection from deportation), work permit, the pathway to permanent residency, and eventually citizenship.
Jessica Inez Martínez, Staff Attorney and Legal Expert at New Mexico Immigrant Law Center said,
“NMILC is elated to hear the news that Governor Lujan Grisham signed the Special Immigrant Juvenile Classification Act into law. I am overcome with emotion as this law is already creating meaningful change for immigrant youth in NM. I have been receiving calls from partnering legal organizations informing me that their clients will be able to meet the age out deadline before they turn 21 in a few weeks. Our office is working diligently to help immigrant youth that will now be able to benefit from this change in our law, many of which inspired the passage of this law. This law will create positive generational change for more immigrant youth in our state to have a pathway for permanent status. New Mexico is the 18th state in the nation to expand the age of majority to age 21 for special immigrant juvenile cases.”
Monica Newcomer Miller, Managing Attorney, Children’s Program at New Mexico Immigrant Law Center:
“The culmination of today’s signing of the Special Immigrant Juvenile Act by Governor Lujan Grisham came after concerted efforts by so many participants across the state. We are grateful to our community partners, eligible youth and our own legal expert, Jessica Martinez, for combining tireless efforts to promote the bill, bring awareness to the issue and work for lasting change for our immigrant youth in the state. We send a special thank you to each of the legislators who sponsored the bill, voted for change and worked with our team and legislative champions to get the votes needed to pass HB15. This day could not have come without the efforts of so many supporters and advocates. Thank you! We are thrilled to now be able to provide these expanded services to our clients.”
*Zoom or Facetime interviews available upon request.*
# # #
The New Mexico Immigrant Law Center is a non-profit organization seeking to advance justice and equity by empowering low-income immigrant communities through collaborative legal services, advocacy, and education.
HB 15 Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) Classification Bill passed the House Judiciary Committee with unanimous 10-0 vote.
Media Contact Email: info@nmilc.org
Albuquerque, N.M.Today- HB 15, A Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) Classification Bill, nicknamed the Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) bill, passed The New Mexico House Judiciary Committee with a unanimous 10-0 vote garnering clear bipartisan support. The legislative proposal now moves to the House Floor. If enacted, undocumented youth and children living in New Mexico would be eligible to apply for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) up until the age of 21, which aligns with the federal statute.
SIJS protects immigrant youth and children who have been abused, abandoned or neglected. It is a two-step process that implicates both state and federal law. Federal Congress established that the applicant must first go to state court to obtain a juvenile court order issuing predicate findings, and only after such findings are made can the applicant petition the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for SIJ status. While federal immigration law extends the definition of “child” to age 21, USCIS requires that the predicate state order be obtained before the age of majority in that particular state—which generally has been interpreted as age 18 in NM. Because NM state law is generally limited to age 18, many immigrant children who would qualify for SIJS under federal immigration law are unable to obtain the relief.
The SIJ bill seeks to enable NM state law to reflect federal immigration law to expand the court age-out deadline up to the age of 21 for SIJ cases.This change would make NM the thirteenth state to do this.
Monica Newcomer Miller, Managing Attorney at the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center, said:
“We are very happy to have the overwhelming support of the House Judiciary Committee in moving HB 15 forward. This bill will help to protect vulnerable immigrant youth in our state who have suffered abuse, abandonment or neglect as children. We are excited to be one step closer to securing relief for these children and expanding the age from 18 to 21 in which they can seek this protection.”
Michelle Murguia, Field Manager at New Mexico Dream Team said,
“I’m excited to see SB229 moved to the Senate Floor Committee. I personally was not able to submit an application for the Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), but my brother was able to submit his application days before turning 18. I discovered there was immigration relief that protected children when I was 19 years old, but because the age limit being 18, I was unable to apply. I believe that if the age limit is 21, I would have more opportunities to succeed, but more importantly, I would be protected from deportation. I strongly feel that the age restriction should be raised to 21, as very few young immigrants like myself are aware of the opportunities available to them at the age of 18. I know more people like me that lost that opportunity because of their age, and changing the age limit would benefit more people from my community giving them the opportunity they deserve.”
*Zoom or Facetime interviews available upon request.*
# # #
The New Mexico Immigrant Law Center is a non-profit organization seeking to advance justice and equity by empowering low-income immigrant
communities through collaborative legal services, advocacy, and education.
The New Mexico Dream Team is a statewide network committed to create power for multigenerational, undocumented, and mixed status families through trainings and leadership development. We work to engage our community and allies in becoming leaders using an intersectional, gender, and racial justice lens—to develop and implement an organizing and advocacy infrastructure for policy change.
SB 229 Special Immigrant Juvenile (“SIJ”) Classification Act moves to Senate Judiciary Committee
Media Contact Email: info@nmilc.org
Albuquerque, N.M.Today- Senate Bill 229, A Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) Classification Bill, nicknamed the Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) bill, passed The New Mexico Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee (SHPAC) with a vote of 6-0 . The legislative proposal now moves to the Senate Judiciary Committee. If enacted, undocumented youth and children living in New Mexico would be eligible to apply for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) up until the age of 21, which aligns with the federal statute.
SIJS protects immigrant youth and children who have been abused, abandoned or neglected. It is a two-step process that implicates both state and federal law. Federal Congress established that the applicant must first go to state court to obtain a juvenile court order issuing predicate findings, and only after such findings are made can the applicant petition the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for SIJ status. While federal immigration law extends the definition of “child” to age 21, USCIS requires that the predicate state order be obtained before the age of majority in that particular state—which generally has been interpreted as age 18 in NM. Because NM state law is generally limited to age 18, many immigrant children who would qualify for SIJS under federal immigration law are unable to obtain the relief.
The SIJ bill seeks to enable NM state law to reflect federal immigration law to expand the court age-out deadline up to the age of 21 for SIJ cases.This change would make NM the thirteenth state to do this.
Michelle Murguia, Field Manager at New Mexico Dream Team said,
“I was not able to submit an application for the Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), but my brother was. I discovered there was immigration relief that protected children when I was 19 years old, but because the age limit is 18, I was unable to apply. My brother was accepted a few days before turning 18. I believe that if the age limit is 21, my brother and I would both have equal opportunities to succeed, but more importantly, I would be protected from deportation. I strongly feel that the age restriction should be raised to 21, as very few young immigrants like myself are aware of the opportunities available to them at the age of 18. I know more people like me that lost that opportunity because of their age, and changing the age limit would benefit more people from my community giving them the opportunity they deserve.”
Monica Newcomer Miller, Managing Attorney at the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center, said:
“We are very happy to have the overwhelming support of the SHPAC in moving SB 229 forward. This bill will help to protect vulnerable immigrant youth in our state who have suffered abuse, abandonment or neglect as children. We are excited to be one step closer to securing relief for these children and expanding the age from 18 to 21 in which they can seek this protection.”
*Zoom or Facetime interviews available upon request.*
# # #
The New Mexico Dream Team is a statewide network committed to create power for multigenerational, undocumented, and mixed status families through trainings and leadership development. We work to engage our community and allies in becoming leaders using an intersectional, gender, and racial justice lens—to develop and implement an organizing and advocacy infrastructure for policy chan
The New Mexico Immigrant Law Center is a non-profit organization seeking to advance justice and equity by empowering low-income immigrant communities through collaborative legal services, advocacy, and education.
SB 229, Seeks to Expand Age-Out Deadline to 21, For Special Immigrant Juvenile Cases
Media Contact Email: info@nmilc.org
1|26|2023
Albuquerque, N.M. Senate Bill 229, A Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) Classification Bill, nicknamed the Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) bill, has been filed at the New Mexico Legislature. The bill is sponsored by Senator Linda Lopez and Senator Antoinette Sedillo Lopez.
If enacted, New Mexican undocumented youth and children would be eligible to apply for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) up until the age of 21, which aligns with the federal statute.
SIJS protects immigrant youth and children who have been abused, abandoned or neglected. It is a two-step process that implicates both state and federal law. Federal Congress established that the applicant must first go to state court to obtain a juvenile court order issuing predicate findings, and only after such findings are made can the applicant petition the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for SIJ status. While federal immigration law extends the definition of “child” to age 21, USCIS requires that the predicate state order be obtained before the age of majority in that particular state—which generally has been interpreted as age 18 in NM. Because NM state law is generally limited to age 18, many immigrant children who would qualify for SIJS under federal immigration law are unable to obtain the relief.
The SIJ bill seeks to enable NM state law to reflect federal immigration law to expand the court age-out deadline up to the age of 21 for SIJ cases.This change would make NM the thirteenth state to do this.
SIJS continues to be an essential route for immigrant youth towards citizenship especially now that the future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, a program that does not provide a pathway to citizenship, remains in limbo.
Michelle Murguia, Field Manager at New Mexico Dream Team said,
“I was not able to submit an application for the Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), but my brother was. I discovered there was immigration relief that protected children when I was 19 years old, but because the age limit is 18, I was unable to apply. My brother was accepted a few days before turning 18. I believe that if the age limit is 21, my brother and I would both have equal opportunities to succeed, but more importantly, I would be protected from deportation. I strongly feel that the age restriction should be raised to 21, as very few young immigrants like myself are aware of the opportunities available to them at the age of 18. I know more people like me that lost that opportunity because of their age, and changing the age limit would benefit more people from my community giving them the opportunity they deserve.
Jessica Inez Martínez, Staff Attorney and Legal Expert at New Mexico Immigrant Law Center said,
“New Mexico has a unique opportunity to reflect federal immigration law, which allows qualifying immigrant youth to apply for SIJS up to the age of 21. The passage of this bill would create positive generational change for a greater number of vulnerable immigrant children to obtain SIJS. An immigrant youth that obtains SIJS would have access to healthcare, educational opportunities, protection from deportation, a work permit, a pathway to permanent residency, and eventually citizenship. If passed, New Mexico would be the 17th state in the nation to expand the age of majority to age 21 in special immigrant juvenile cases. ”
The New Mexico Dream Team is a statewide network committed to create power for multigenerational, undocumented, and mixed status families through trainings and leadership development. We work to engage our community and allies in becoming leaders using an intersectional, gender, and racial justice lens—to develop and implement an organizing and advocacy infrastructure for policy change fighting to dismantle systemic oppression.
The New Mexico Immigrant Law Center is a non-profit organization seeking to advance justice and equity by empowering low-income immigrant communities through collaborative legal services, advocacy, and education.
Senate Bill 229: Fact Sheet
