A federal judge in Maryland on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, temporarily blocked two policies from the administration of President Donald Trump that changed how asylum interviews are scheduled for unaccompanied children. U.S. District Judge Brendan Hurson issued a temporary restraining order requiring the government to reinstate prior rules while the case proceeds.
The lawsuit was filed two weeks ago by legal service providers, including the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights and The Door. The plaintiffs argued that the new policies, adopted by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in August and September, were designed to fast-track deportations and made it difficult for organizations to advocate for the children they serve.
Judge Hurson ruled that a policy reducing the 21-day advance notice for interviews to as little as 24 hours was inconsistent with the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008. He stated the law requires the government to account for the specialized needs of unaccompanied minors during the procedure leading up to the interviews. Additionally, the judge found that a second policy, which limited rescheduling interviews to cases of "exceptional circumstances," likely violated the Administrative Procedure Act.
The scale of the impact involves the thousands of children currently in the system. For these individuals, the ruling shifts the process from potentially having little notice back to having 21 days to coordinate with a lawyer. The stricter "exceptional circumstances" standard for rescheduling is also suspended, reverting to the previous standard.
The ruling sets a temporary precedent that the 2008 child-protection law imposes procedural obligations on federal agencies leading up to the interview. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees USCIS, did not respond to requests for comment. The temporary restraining order is scheduled to remain in effect until Nov. 13, 2026, at which point the court will decide whether to issue a longer-term injunction against the policies.