Judge Questions DOJ Lawyer Over Sponsor Vetting for Migrant Kids

March 18, 2026, 11:28 PM UTC

A Washington federal judge expressed frustration at a Justice Department lawyer who couldn’t provide the status of a challenged Trump administration policy affecting migrant children in government custody.

Judge Dabney Friedrich of the US District Court of the District of Columbia questioned the government during a hearing on Wednesday about the status of a regulation that changed requirements for adults seeking to sponsor unaccompanied migrant kids.

Justice Department lawyer William Silvis told her the contested sponsorship rule was in the “pipeline,” but he couldn’t say when the Department of Health and Human Services, which takes custody of migrant children, might ...

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