Marcelle Guimaraes v. Christopher Scott Brann (Texas Supreme Court). NIWAP, represented by KL Gates, served
as lead amicus on a brief before the Texas Supreme Court. The amicus curiae brief is filed on behalf of a woman who is fighting for complete custody and the ability to keep her child in Brazil away from the child’s father, who had abused the mother. The mother won a contested Hague
Convention Case in which both parties participated and the mother was granted the right to keep the child
in Brazil and was awarded full custody. The Texas trial court ignored the Brazilian order and in a divorce proceeding awarded custody to the father.
Family Law > Hague and Parental Kidnapping
Topic: Hague and Parental Kidnapping
[pdf] Souratgar v. Fair (February 18 2013) 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals (+)
Souratgar v. Fair (February 18 2013) 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals. NIWAP and others, represented by Greenberg and Trauri, participated in an amicus in a Hague Convention international custody case with Sanctuary for Families in New York. The amicus address domestic violence and immigration related abuse and provided social science research and legislative history documenting the dynamics of domestic violence experienced by immigrant victims, particularly immigration related abuse as well as research and Congressional Resolutions on the effect that witnessing a domestic violence has on children.
[pdf] Jessica Ruth Gonzales v. United States of America Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (December 5 2007) (+)
Amicus brief submitted to the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights after Castle Rock police department failed to enforce an order of protection against Ms. Gonzales’s husband. This brief argues that there is an international consensus recognizing states’ obligation to protect against domestic violence and provide effective remedies for its victims. Even if laws and orders are issued, they must be enforced. The police failure to enforce the protective order in this case, together with the United States’ failure to provide a judicial remedy for this lack of enforcement, violate established international human rights treaties and standards, under which states are required to respect, protect, and fulfil women and girls’ rights to be free from gender-based violence, including domestic violence.
[pdf] Blondin v. Dubois (2000) U.S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit (+)
Blondin v. Dubois, U.S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit (2000). NOW LDEF represented by Crowell & Moring filed an amicus brief in support of a mother’s child custody against a challenge under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction U.S.C. section 11601 by the father, a resident of France.
[pdf] Pierre Salame Ajami v. Veronica Tescari Solano, 6th Circuit Court of Appeals (April 19 2022) (+)
“Pierre Salame Ajami v. Veronica Tescari Solano” (6 th Circuit Court of Appeals) NIWAP filed an Amicus Brief in
a 6 th Circuit Court of Appeals case in which a Venezuelan mother who had been granted asylum in the United
States as a victim of domestic violence was ordered by the District Court in a Hague Convention case to return her
children who had also been granted asylum in the U.S. to their father in Venezuela. This appeal highlighted the
error of law that the District Court made in failing to consider the fact that the mother and children had been
deemed credible by DHS and granted asylum. The brief provided social science data demonstrated how the District
Court had also failed to consider the impact of trauma on testimony of domestic violence victims. NIWAP was
represented by DLA Piper and Crowell and Moring represented the victim mother in this case. (April 19, 2022)
[pdf] USCIS and State Department: Intercountry Adoption Process Flow Chart of Key Steps (June 6, 2023) (+)
USCIS and the U.S. State Department developed this tool to assist judges and attorneys in the U.S. to better understand the intercountry adoption process for foreign born children from Hague Convention and non-Hague Convention countries. This tools helps ensure that the proper steps are followed so that the adopted child obtains a visa providing them legal immigration status and a path to naturalized citizenship.
[pdf] USCIS Fact Sheet: Adoption in U.S. Courts of Children from Hague Adoption Convention Countries (June 6, 2023) (+)
Foreign-born children in the United States who are adopted in a U.S. court may face immigration-related implications. Adoption alone does not give a child lawful immigration status. This fact sheet reviews the immigration implications for children from Hague Adoption Convention (“Convention” or “Hague”) countries who did not immigrate to the United States through the U.S. Convention process and are undergoing U.S. adoption proceedings.
[pdf] With No Place to Turn: Improving Legal Advocacy for Battered Immigrant Women (July 1, 1995) (+)
This article provides an overview of immigrant battered women’s legal rights and options in 1995. It discusses the VAWA self-petition, battered spouse waiver, VAWA’s new any credible evidence rules, as well as protection orders, language access, and preventing parental kidnapping.
[pdf] Flight Risk of Foreign Born Parents With Children (June 12, 2021) (+)
This publication reports on research data documenting that the parents most likely to kidnap children internationally at those who are most able to travel freely to and from the U.S. and parents with close ties abroad and the means to travel (e.g., dual nationals and foreign born parents who are naturalized citizens, lawful permanent residents, have visas that allow for multiple entries into the U.S., or work visas that allow for travel abroad. It also discusses steps courts and attorneys can take to prevent parental kidnapping and best practices for responding when an opposing party argues in court that the immigration status of a parent makes it likely that the parent will flee the U.S. with the children if the immigrant parent is awarded custody.
[pdf] Chapter 06.3: The Implications of the Hague International Child Abduction Convention: Cases and Practice (+)
This chapter will provide an overview of the Hague Convention and its applications, as well as some practical recommendations to attorneys and advocates working with victims of domestic violence who are considering leaving the country with their children or who are fearful that their abuser may leave the country with their children.
[pdf] Chapter 06.2: Criminal and Civil Implications for Battered Immigrants Fleeing Across State Lines with Their Children (+)
This chapter covers the implications of what will happen if battered immigrants flee across state lines with children.
[pdf] LSC Memorandum Regarding Hague Convention Cases (+)
Memorandum from the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) to all its grantees confirming that LSC grantees have the statutory and regulatory authority to represent eligible foreign nationals in Hague Convention cases (compelling the return of a child from one member nation to another) brought in United States courts. This authority extends to foreign nationals residing abroad.
[pdf] Somewhere to Turn (+)
A comprehensive manual covering topics such as: domestic violence and battered immigrant issues, cultural competency training, cross-cultural interviewing, recruiting and hiring multilingual and multicultural staff, shelter protocols, outreach and community collaboration, shelter access for battered immigrant women, VAWA immigration cases and victim advocacy confidentiality, creative use of protection orders, protections orders enforcement and criminal prosecution, access to public benefits, verification and reporting requirements under the U.S. Attorney General’s guidance and order, and model programs.
[pdf] Hague Adoption Convention USCISMemo (+)
Acceptance of an I-600A and I-600 after 4/1/2008 for a child habitually resident in a Hague Adoption Convention country – adoptions and grants of custody obtained before April 1, 2008
[pdf] State Criminal Custodial Interference Statutes (+)
A table of each state’s stance on criminal custodial interference statutes.
[pdf] Border Crossings: Understanding the Civil, Criminal, and Immigration Implications for Battered Immigrants Fleeing Across State Lines With Their Children (2005) (+)
This article provides an overview of the impact of state criminal parental kidnapping or custodial interference statutes on immigrant survivors of domestic violence who already have left or wish to leave their state with their children. Specifically, it discusses the jurisdictional laws that relate to interstate custodial interference; the varying applicability of custodial interference statutes for parents who do and do not have court-ordered custody of their children; statutory exception or defenses available to survivors of domestic violence facing prosecution on charges of criminal parental kidnapping; and immigration consequences related to a conviction under such statutes. The article also discusses the implications of interstate parental relocation on civil family court custody determinations and ethical issues that may arise for lawyers representing survivors who flee from violence with their children.