*State Courts and the Protection of Immigrant Crime Victims and Children [pdf]
Proposal for Judicial Training available from NIWAP for in-person training of state court judges, magistrates, commissioners and court staff. Formats available: full day, half day, workshop and/or plenary presentation. As the numbers of linguistic and cultural diverse foreign-born individuals living in the U.S. has increased, state courts are being called upon to serve greater numbers of families that include immigrant family members. Family courts are seeing growing numbers of immigrants seeking civil protection orders, custody, child support, divorce, U visa certification, and judgments in a range of proceedings particularly those involving children. To issue rulings that promote justice and fairness in cases involving immigrants, courts need access to legally correct information about immigration laws and Department of Homeland Security policies. This training will provide judges, court staff, attorneys and service providers with tools, bench cards, and materials containing up-to-date, legally correct information on current DHS policies, immigration enforcement priorities, and immigration relief that provide protection from deportation, legal immigration status and work authorization for immigrant children and immigrant for victims of domestic violence, child abuse, elder abuse, sexual assault, human trafficking and other crimes. The special role Congress created for judges in issuing U visa certifications and public benefits open to immigrants will also be discussed. Materials related to this training can be found at: niwap.org/go/sji