Immigrant Legal Resource Center et al v. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
N.D. Cal. 26-01583 (AGT)
Court Documents
Other Open Government/FOIA Cases
The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights v. U.S. Department of Justice
The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Maryland Transit Opportunities Coalition v. Federal Highway Administration
On August 25, 2025, The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights (Young Center) requested records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) pertaining to “wellness checks” on unaccompanied children on behalf of itself and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) and Legal Services for Children in San Francisco (LSC).
In February 2025, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launched what it called a “national child welfare initiative to locate and verify” the safety of unaccompanied immigrant children who had been released to sponsors in the United States. The Young Center, ILRC, and LSC have worked closely with unaccompanied immigrant children for years. They are concerned that the government is using “wellness checks” as a pretext for immigration enforcement actions against unaccompanied children and their caregivers, parents, and other sponsors, thus traumatizing and harming the children whose wellness ICE is claiming to serve. Media reports indicate that, by early June 2025, at least 500 children who had been released to their sponsors were returned by ICE to government custody as a result of these “wellness checks.”
Under FOIA, federal agencies must notify requestors within 20 days of a request which records will be produced and then must promptly produce the records. Despite that requirement, ICE did not produce any documents and did not respond other than to acknowledge receipt of the FOIA request.
Accordingly, on February 23, 2026, TPM and the Young Center filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of ILRC and LSC to enforce FOIA against ICE. The lawsuit asks the federal court to order the agency to produce the responsive documents promptly. The litigation is ongoing.
If you have any questions about these matters, please contact Nicholas Soares at 202-204-8481 or nsoares@tpmlaw.com.