Article discussing the neurobiology of child brain development and how it impacts children who come before state family courts in domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, custody, delinquency, dependency and other cases. The article brings together research findings in the fields of child brain science and research on the traumas experienced by immigrant children in their home countries, during their immigration to the U.S. and trauma and abuse immigrant children experience after arriving in the United States.
Publisher: Crowell and Moring
[pdf] Sample U Visa Complete Packet With Waiver (Redacted) (+)
Redacted sample of a U visa application with waiver submitted by our fantastic pro bono partners at Crowell and Moring.
[pdf] Amicus Brief: Domestic Violence Endangers Family Members Who Attempt to Intercede and Gender Based Violence in Honduras (September 25, 2017) (+)
This Amicus Brief was filed by Crowell and Moring on behalf of the NIWAP, Inc and the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence in the 3rd Circuit Federal Court of Appeals. The brief was filed in support for a mother of a domestic violence victim from Honduras who interceded to protect her daughter who was experiencing domestic violence and was stalked and threatened by her daughter’s abuser. The brief discusses the following topics: The dangers in Honduras for women in a country with unchecked gender based violence against women; Social science data on the dangers to family members who attempt to intercede to stop domestic violence and How these two factors combine in Honduras to amplify the danger to women.
[pdf] BIA Amicus Brief on Recent Research Concerning the Neurobiological, Cognitive, and Psychological Development of Children and Adolescents (July 11, 2016) (+)
This Amicus brief was submitted to the Board of Immigration Appeals and addresses an important issue presented by Amicus Invitation No. I 6-06-09, focusing on how the term “minor” should be defined and understood by the Board in child asylum cases in light of the substantial body of recent research concerning the neurobiological, cognitive, and psychological development of children and adolescents. This brief will focus on the significant and deleterious effect trauma and
maltreatment have on that development, including the impact of impaired development on the readiness of child migrants to file asylum applications.