On May 20, 2026, in ICWC v. Noem, Class Action by U.S. District Court, C.D. Cal., Docket #: 2:25-cv-09848,
the Court preliminarily certified the following classes:
- Pending Petition Class: All individuals with pending principal or derivative U visa petitions, T visa petitions or VAWA self-petitions who ICE detains or seeks to detain for civil immigration enforcement.
- Deferred Action Class: All individuals to whom USCIS has granted deferred action based on a pending U or T visa petition and who, during the authorized period of deferred action, ICE detains, seeks to detain, or removed without providing notice and an opportunity to be heard regarding potential revocation of their deferred action status.
- Stay of Removal Class: All individuals with a pending U or T visa petition who, since January 30, 2025, have been, are, or will be detained by ICE and who request a stay of a final order prior to enforcement of that removal order.
The Court also granted Classwide Preliminary Order (Classwide Preliminary Relief) ordering, in relevant part, the following:
- Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 705, the Court hereby STAYS the 2025 Guidance, including its rescission of prior policies. This stay applies in favor of All Individual Plaintiffs, the current and future clients of the Organizational Plaintiffs, and the members of all three Classes.
- Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 705, the Court hereby STAYS the De Facto Revocation Policy, under which ICE does not honor grants of deferred action conferred by USCIS to individuals with pending petitions for U or T visas. This stay applies in favor of [named plaintiffs], the current and future clients of the Organizational Plaintiffs, and the members of the Deferred Action Class.
- Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 705, the Court hereby STAYS the Blind Removal Policy. This stay applies in favor of All Individual Plaintiffs, the current and future clients of the Organizational Plaintiffs, and the members of the Stay of Removal Class.
- Defendants [DHS] are preliminarily ENJOINED from preventing the re-entry of [named plaintiffs] to the United States in the same immigration status they had prior to their forced expulsion from the United States, and are further ENJOINED from removing [named plaintiffs] without a prima facie determination regarding their eligibility regarding the visas for which they applied.
