WASHINGTON, DC, December 12, 2025 — On December 12, a federal court in Washington, DC ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to comply with a long-standing court order to protect immigrant teens from being placed in adult detention centers. The court’s order blocks ICE’s new policy of automatically transferring unaccompanied children to adult detention centers when they turn 18.
Read the court order here and the opinion here.
The order specifically targets children who originally entered the United States as unaccompanied minors and who have “ageed out” of the care of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), a federal program that places unaccompanied children in shelters and then places them in the care of family members or guardians.
This federal court decision enforces the 2021 permanent injunction in Garcia Ramirez v. ICE, which requires ICE to comply with its legal obligations by considering the least restrictive setting available to all unaccompanied children who turn 18, and to make all age limits an alternative to detention.
“This decision makes clear that ICE cannot covertly ignore the law or overtly ignore court orders,” said Suchita Mathur, senior litigation attorney at the American Immigration Council. “ICE sought to detain new 18-year-olds as a matter of course. ICE officers have determined that these children, in most cases, are not a danger or flight risk, and they have the support of sponsors, families, and communities waiting for them. This decision puts an end to that.”
Under the new policy announced Oct. 1, ICE told shelters and attorneys that all unaccompanied children who turn 18 will be transferred to adult detention, even if they have a safe home or sponsor waiting to take them in. Adult detention threatens the short- and long-term development of youth. ICE is currently detaining record numbers of people, exacerbating inhumane conditions including overcrowding and lack of adequate medical care, abusive treatment, and limited access to legal and psychological assistance. The court found it was against the law to automatically send teenagers to adult detention without considering safer, age-appropriate alternatives.
“Today’s ruling sends a powerful message that ICE can no longer place teenagers in dangerous, overcrowded facilities just because they turn 18,” said Mark Fleming, associate director of federal litigation at the National Immigrant Justice Center. “There are safer, more legal options to keep young people connected to their schools, families, and communities. That’s what the law requires and that will restore order.”
The court’s ruling requires ICE to immediately stop following the October 1 guidelines and release anyone detained as a result.
Read the court order here and the opinion here.
