After months of convening, the Supreme Court has finally come to a decision regarding the extensive debate on “aged-out” immigrant children. Lawmakers questioned whether the current immigration law could, in fact, be altered to allow immigrant children who entered the United States with their parents to keep their place in the system if they turned 21 prior to receiving residential status.
The Supreme Court was divided on the subject, throughout the trial. However, in early June, the Court agreed on one principal factor and concluded that the children of immigrant parents will not be given priority even if they turn 21 before the slow immigration system grants them a permanent resident status. This decision is presumed to affect a countless number of young adults, including those children who came with their parents to New York during the years 1990-2000, so their parents could teach.
During the Supreme Courts convening, the law signed by George W Bush in 2002, which was introduced after the Scialabba vs. Cuellar de Osori et al case, was challenged. It appeared as though the law protected ‘aged-out’ children by allowing them to hold their status, or at least their original priority date, ensuring that the process of applying for a new status would not pull the children completely out of the system, or make them start from the beginning. The Supreme Court, however, found that after analysis, parts of the law were unclear.
In conclusion, despite the law introduced in 2002, these children will not be given priority, despite the fact that essentially they are American, culturally and socially. This means that these children will need to follow the immigration law as is in order to receive their residential status. There will be no exceptions, regardless of how slow or backed up the immigration system is, or will be in the future.
