Materials and best practices when working with family law cases for immigrants.
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To apply to the COP, submit this application by Thursday, March 10th. Applications can be emailed to community@niwap.org or mailed to NIWAP at WCL, 4300 Nebraska Ave NW, C100, Washington, DC 20016.
You can fill out the form online at https://goo.gl/forms/It4xjjr4ky
Information for child welfare workers in regards to the Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS).
This chapter discusses protection orders for immigrant victims of sexual assault.
This chapter addresses the importance of protection orders as a tool to prevent domestic violence and discusses the authority and obligation of family court judges to issue protection orders to all survivors of intimate partner violence. Most importantly, this chapter explains the distinct separation between the powers of family court judges to issue protection orders and other family court remedies to survivors of domestic violence and the federal authority to grant or revoke immigration status.
Flow chart illustrating the importance of providing support for immigrant victims seeking help from the justice system and the many different types of justice system cases immigrant victims encounter as they turn to the justice system for help. The systems immigrant and LEP victims need support navigating include: immigration, domestic violence/ arrest incident, family court, benefits, and protection orders (civil court process).
This handout will provide best practices for judges, attorneys, and advocates on how to secure the attendance, in court proceedings, of immigrants who are being detained by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) so that immigrants can participate in family court proceedings involving their children and in criminal court proceedings.
This document outlines the purpose of and need for protection orders in cases of domestic violence and sexual assault, the barriers that victims face in obtaining protection orders, and the intersection of protection orders and immigration concerns. The document will be particularly useful for attorneys, advocates, and judges attempting to understand the impacts of protection orders on a victim’s immigration case.
Battered immigrants often require additional protection to address specific needs sensitive to the particular dynamics of power and coercive control in the abusive relationship where the abuser is the only pathway to lawful immigration status. This chart offers creative filings that a victim may consider based on the specific behavior she wants to deter. This document will be particularly helpful to advocates and attorneys representing battered immigrants, and to judges looking to familiarize themselves with possible remedies in such cases.
This helpful reference covers topics, such as the role of immigration status in custody cases, immigration relief for immigrant crime victims, and common immigration status misconceptions that arise in custody cases.
This chapter is designed to help lawyers develop case plans that position immigrant clients to best take advantage of the immigration and family law protections available to help battered immigrants. This chapter also highlights key issues that arise for lawyers representing battered immigrants in custody cases. Tools and resources are provided to help screen clients for immigration relief eligibility and to locate immigration lawyers in your state who have expertise working with immigrant survivors.
This guide describes the child welfare system in great detail. If you do not know what a word or term means, see the Glossary. You may need to read certain sections in this guide several times in order to understand and you may also need to ask someone else for help.
This bench card provides information for state court judges on issues unique to immigrants, such as: eligibility to work, eligibility to receive benefits and services, the impact of Individual Tax Identification Numbers (ITINs) and use of immigration affidavits of support in family and juvenile court proceedings and mandatory detention. The purpose of this bench card is to provide a quick reference and to help judges identify immigration issues that might affect the range of outcomes available in cases before them. The information contained in this bench card provides accurate information on work authorization, benefits access, assurances made to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regarding support of family members, and information about immigrants who will be paying taxes and be able to submit tax returns to the court.
Bibliography of legal journal articles and legal publications related to the legal rights of immigrant victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking through 2013.
This document details the range of behaviors that would constitute “battery or extreme cruelty” used by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and draws examples from decisions state court judges deemed abusive/domestic violence in granting civil protection orders and determining of family violence in family law cases.
ICE Directive complementing and building upon policy memoranda and enforcement priorities to clarify ICE policy and procedure with regard to the placement, monitoring, accommodation, and removal of immigrant parents of children living in the United States, parents and legal guardians involved in family court proceedings involving children, and parents or legal guardians who have minor US citizen children. Superseded by ICE Detained Parent Directive (2017)
This chapter covers a courts’ obligation to immigrants and immigrant victims of domestic violence in regards to family court cases in divorce, child custody, and child support.
This chapter discusses the different barriers which immigrants may encounter with regard to accessing services. It discusses the impact of Welfare Reform on immigrant families. This chapter also includes a policy guidance issued by the Department of Health and Human Services, regarding handling questions on citizenship, immigration status, and social security numbers during the benefits application process, as well as facilitating access to public benefits for persons with limited English proficiency (LEP). Other topics included in this chapter are Medicaid and SCHIP, food stamps, and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF).
This chapter highlights several important types of assistance that nonprofit organizations serving immigrant victims of domestic violence may provide and discusses the requirements that service providers must meet when working with battered immigrant populations. Specifically, the chapter describes shelter services, victim compensation, legal assistance, and other types of federal benefits that organizations may provide to battered immigrants. Next, it discusses federal laws prohibiting service providers from discriminating on the basis of national origin and requiring them to provide services without regard to immigration status when necessary to protect the life and safety of a victim.
The chapter discusses jurisdictionally sound civil protection orders and the potential harms for victims if courts issues protection orders that are open to challenge by abusers who violate protection orders that are not jurisdictionally sound.
This chapter covers the implications of what will happen if battered immigrants flee across state lines with children.
Chapter in Empowering Survivors: Legal Rights of Immigrant Victims of Sexual Assault. This chapter discusses the importance of and steps that advocates and attorneys working with immigrant victims of domestic violence, child abuse, elder abuse, stalking and sexual assault can take to ensure that civil protection orders issues to family, stalking and sexual violence victims are jurisdictionally sound and enforceable. It provides practice pointers for avoiding agreement to and objecting to court orders that result in state court issuance of “no-findings” protection orders and lays out best practices for receiving consent protection orders that are jurisdictionally sound and enforceable because they are based on the uncontested affidavit of a victim in a civil case.
This is a comprehensive manual that provides information that will be useful to advocates, attorneys, justice, and social services professionals working with and assisting immigrant survivors of sexual assault. This manual will help advocates and professionals expand their knowledge and capacity to aid immigrant victims of sexual assault in accessing justice under federal and state civil, immigration, public benefits, social services, language access legal services and criminal laws in the United States. The goal is to help provide resources, assistance, and support to help immigrant victims of sexual violence and sexual harassment recover, heal, and rebuild their lives. The chapter and tools included in this manual may also be useful to advocates, attorneys, and social services professionals working with immigrant victims of domestic violence, stalking, and human trafficking.
Breaking Barriers is a comprehensive tool that provides information that will be useful to advocates, attorneys, justice, and social services professionals working with and assisting immigrant survivors of domestic and family violence. This Manual provides a detailed overview explanation of immigrant survivors’ legal rights under immigration, family, public benefits, and criminal laws and their rights to access a broad range of victim services without regard to immigration status of the immigrant crime victim or their children. Breaking Barriers provides social science research findings, information about laws, policies and best practices, legislative history, tools and checklists that will help professionals working with immigrant survivors navigate intersecting legal and social services options that are legally available to assist all immigrant victims including those who are undocumented.
Civil protection orders are available in all fifty states, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and all U.S territories and are designed to protect battered individuals from their abusers. The civil protection order aims to offer the victim protection from future abuse and can be crafted to uniquely address and counter abuse, power, and control in each particular relationship. When civil protection orders are appropriately drafted and consistently enforced, they can provide effective protection for victims of domestic violence. Most importantly, civil protection orders provide a victim-initiated and controlled justice response to domestic violence that does not require criminal justice system involvement. Civil protection orders are initiated by the victim, thus a victim can choose to pursue this justice-system remedy without reliance on the criminal courts. This chapter discusses civil protection orders in depth.
This chapter provides an overview of the child support system and demonstrates some of the problems faced by immigrant victims in accessing this system. This chapter also provides practical information on how to prepare for a child and spousal support case; what form of support orders are best in domestic violence cases; and tips on child support enforcement. The focus of this chapter is on the child- and spousal support issues that arise in cases of immigrant victims.
This chapter is designed to help family lawyers prepare to counter attempts by abusers to raise immigration status in custody cases. Attorneys should be encouraged to use the information in this chapter to educate judges hearing custody cases about the fact that they should not consider immigration status in making custody decisions in the best interests of children. The contents of this chapter are written in a format that could be incorporated into a bench brief to a trial court in a custody matter or that would be included in materials for educating judges.
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.
A powerpoint presentation from the June 26-27, 2013 training in Providence, Rhode Island from session 2A.
Announcement of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of extension of operating hours of the ICE Community and Detainee Helpline. The helpline provides direct channel for ICE detainees, their lawyers and advocates, nongovernmental organizations, and the general public to directly engage the ICE Office of the Public Advocate to answer questions and resolve concerns.
A template to file a motion to dismiss for inadequate service of process.
A template of a defendant’s motion to appear telephonically or via video conference.
A comprehensive manual covering topics, such as: attorney guide for victim parents at risk of detention, fact sheet on State v. Maria L., Nebraska Supreme Court ruling, explanation and power of attorney designation instructions, appointment of temporary guardian of child (one parent and two parents), motion to dismiss for inadequate service of process, motion to appear telephonically, motion and memo opposing TPR, TPR trial brief template, protecting assets and child custody in the face of deportation, and how children move through the child welfare system.
This article explores battered immigrant women’s use of protection orders. It presents an exploratory view of battered immigrant women’s knowledge of protection orders, the reasons leading them to file for protection orders, the remedies they sought in the protection orders, their views on what would improve the process of obtaining protection orders, and their experiences with the violations of protection.
This tool provides information on economic relief for immigrant victims and focuses on the role of financial control and isolation abusers use to maintain control over their victims. This tool address such issues as VAWA self-petition eligibility, child custody, child support, etc.
Department of Homeland Security resource guide clarifies and explains the role of certifying agencies in the U visa application process. This guide was published by DHS to provide accurate information on signing I-918B forms for federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, and other government agencies qualified to sign U visa certifications such as the EEOC, federal and state labor departments, adult and child protective services, and any other eligible agencies that have criminal, civil, or administrative investigative or proprietorial authority. The guide provides information about what a U visa is, how law enforcement and government agencies have a special role in certification, tips on filling out the form, and contains answers to frequently asked questions.
Information and examples explaining how and in what proceedings courts may encounter immigrants who are eligible for Violence Against Women Act (VAWA and U Visa), Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), Special Immigrant Juvenile (SJIS) and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) immigration protections.
A comprehensive tool kit on subjects, such as: ensuring economic relief for immigrant victims through family law, proceedings: child support and spousal support, applicant financial statement, employer financial statement, employer affidavit, sample cover letter requesting employer’s statement, retroactive child support, and timing of immigrant victim access to work authorization.
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.
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.
E.M.B.R. (Mother) appeals a judgment terminating her parental rights to her son, C.M.B.R. (Child), and granting M.M. and S.M.’s petition to adopt Child because the trial court found she willfully abandoned him. Court determines whether her consent was required under section 453.040(7), and the adoption of Child by S.M. and M.M.
Training powerpoint on public benefits from the December 1, 2010 Sioux Falls, South Dakata
This letter used together with the ICE Performance Based National Detention Standard on Escorted Trips for Non-Medical Emergencies (also included in this library) describes the system for securing attendance at court hearings for immigrants in ICE immigration detention. For parents in immigration detention this letter and the Non-Medical Emergency escort policy has been replaced by the 2013 Parental Interest Directive (also included in this library). This letter and the Non-Medical Emergency escort policy will have continued availability for use by courts and attorneys seeking to have detained immigrants appear in court for proceeding that do not involve children.
A memo in response to a letter from the Women’s Refugee Commission about changes to the Performance Based National Detention Standard on Escorted Trips for Non-Medical Emergencies.
A template for designation of a temporary guardian for a minor in the case of two parents.
A template for designation of a temporary guardian for a minor in the case of one parent.
A guardianship election form is a notarized statement indicating who should have the authority to act as the temporary guardian of your child should a client be suddenly unavailable to care for their child. Circumstances include hospitalization or immigration detention.
Toolkit of materials for representing immigrant victim parents in detention or deported. This tool kit was created with the expectation that an increase in the number of family law assistance for immigrant parents will emerge and also in the hopes that family law attorneys nationwide will be equipped to handle these specific cases and can volunteer their services.This tool kit can also be adapted and used in contested custody cases and abuse and neglect cases involving immigrant victims since many of the same issues arise.
A sample motion opposing termination of the parent and child relationship.
A sample trial brief written in the context of a termination of parental rights proceeding. This brief can be easily adapted for use in child abuse and neglect proceedings or child custody cases when similar issues are raised. We encourage you to add the facts of your case and local state family law and to use this brief as a tool to inform judges about the law that should be applied in cases of undocumented, detained and even deported immigrant parents.
While children of immigrants have a lot at stake in the discussions surrounding U.S. immigration policy, their interests remain largely ignored in the debate. For instance, little consideration is given to the impact of immigration enforcement on the 5.5 million children, the vast majority of whom are native-born U.S. citizens, living with at least one undocumented parent. Similarly overlooked are the significant challenges experienced by public child welfare agencies that encounter children separated from their parents due to immigration enforcement measures.
The U.S. child welfare system is based on the notion of ensuring the safety and best interest of the child; however, this principle is often compromised in the face of conflicting federal immigration policies and practices. This policy brief examines the intersection of immigration enforcement and child welfare and the difficulties facing immigrant families caught between the two systems. Recommendations are provided to prioritize keeping children with their families and out of the public child welfare system whenever possible and to ensure that separated families who do encounter the child welfare system receive appropriate care and due process.
A fact sheet on the State v. Maria L. case where there was an unanimous Nebraska Supreme Court Decision on the legal rights of immigrant parents.
State of Nebraska v. Maria L, involving Angelica L. and Daniel L, both children under 18 years of age.
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
This list is designed to provide advocates working with battered immigrants with a tool that will help them work more effectively with immigrant battered women preparing to seek protection orders. It can be used to help women who will be seeking protection orders “pro se” accompanied by an advocate and it can also be used as a tool for advocates helping women who will be represented by attorneys.
The Lifetime Spiral of Gender Abuse describes the potential for violence across the female lifespan. Those working with battered women use it to identify a survivors life history of trauma. Information about a survivors trauma history can be extremely helpful in the development of a victim’s immigration case and improve outcomes in VAWA, U and T visa cases. Identifying the full history or traumas experienced by battered women can also improve outcomes in custody cases as it helps family lawyers representing battered women identify elements of abuse that the victim may not have otherwise revealed (e.g. sexual assault) and it makes the attorney representing the victim in the custody case aware of trauma history that the perpetrator may use against the victim in the custody case.
Final report to the National Institutes of Justice on a grant documenting the use and outcomes of civil protection orders by battered immigrant women. (November 10, 2006).
Article on ways to prepare clients to testify to alleviate their anxiety, helping the client with relevant facts, and coaching the client on techniques of testifying.
A comprehensive manual on topics, such as: immigration has tripled the foreign-born population in 35 years, three-quarters of children of immigrants are Latino or Asian, three-quarters of children of immigrants are U.S. born citizens but many have undocumented parents, immigrants are concentrated but dispersing rapidly, children of immigrants are poorer despite parental work and two parents in the home, poverty and economic hardship are greater among children of immigrants, poverty, hardship, and health insurance coverage vary by state, and contributors to school readiness among children of immigrants.
Lists of the types of evidence to consider gathering during discovery based upon abuse, custody, support and property, immigration issues, and considerations when there is a criminal case pending.
An appeal from a district court order establishing child custody between Araceli Perez Rico v. Jose Rodriguez in the state of Nevada.
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.
A table of each state’s stance on criminal custodial interference statutes.
Amicus brief in the case of Antonio Ruiz v. Wendy R. Carrasco, case nos. 98-FM-39 98-FM-40 on issues of civil protection orders. Ruiz v. Carrasco, DC Court of Appeals (1997) Filed an Amicus Brief was in support of a court issuing a protection order prohibiting an abusive husband from reporting his wife to government officials including (INS). (Piper Marbury Rudnick & Wolfe, Pro Bono)
This is an exploratory examination of the co-occurrence of domestic violence and maltreatment of children among immigrant Latina families.
This newsletter addresses the challenges faced by immigrant women dealing with domestic violence, but also provides insight into the Violence Against Women act and its tools that help battered immigrant women take charge of their own lives and immigration cases. It, also, discusses a labor law enacted in Illinois in 2003 that is designed to protect victims of domestic violence, two case holdings concerning the purpose of guardian ad litem reports in custody disputes and expanding the category of acts that constitute domestic violence.
Many women who have experienced domestic violence are also involved with the child protection system (CPS). Most are poor, and a disproportionate number are women of color, both immigrant and U.S. born. Being involved with CPS can be frightening, overwhelming and confusing for them. And as an advocate, you may feel as helpless as the women you are trying to assist. This guidebook is intended to underscore the importance of your work, provide tips for how to improve your practice in this area, and inspire you to do what you do best-understand a woman’s situation and help her navigate the road to safety, well-being, and self-sufficiency.
This article will provide a comprehensive overview of issues facing the courts when noncitizens are petitioners, respondents, or both in domestic violence cases, including a discussion of findings that can be made for immigrant survivors of domestic violence.
This article addresses the misconceptions about the extent and impact of domestic violence in child custody hearings. Several misconceptions are identified and juxtaposed with the reality of emerging knowledge in this field, and implications are outlined. These issues are illustrated by the perspectives of 62 women victims and 95 children exposed to domestic violence who had to navigate the justice system after separation from an abuser. Recommendations are offered for enhancing professional education, resource development, and collaboration among courts and community service providers.
A court template to order retroactive child support.
Domestic violence has moved into the spotlight in public debate in this country, particularly with the 1994 passage of the Violence Against Women Act. After years of considering domestic violence a “family matter,” the criminal justice, legal, and medical communities are now collaborating to protect women and children from abusers.
Expressing the sense of the Congress that, for purposes of determining child custody, credible evidence of physical abuse of one’s spouse should create a statutory presumption that it is detrimental to the child to be placed in the custody of the abusive spouse.
This report was commissioned by American Bar Association (ABA) President, R. William Ide, III, in March 1994. This report is a review of the legal literature and reform proposals that had been developed in the area of domestic violence and contains recommendations for legislation and other policy action, as well as proposals for what the organized bar and individual attorneys should do to better address domestic violence and its adverse impact on children.
Syllabus of United States v. Dixon regarding the issue of whether a criminal can be later charged in contempt for committing the same crime of which he is already being prosecuted (in this case for violating a Civil Protection Order).
A guide for practitioners assisting immigrant families who are facing deportation. This guide is in English and in Spanish.
An article on providing legal protection for battered women and an analysis of state statutes and case law. History of state protection order statutes.
A statement template from an employer, covering employment for husband (or wife) and financial statement.
A cover letter sample for employer’s affidavit and statement.
A checklist of interviewing questions regarding immigration history and eligibility for visas and immigration benefits.
A template for an affidavit from the spouse’s employer regarding employment.
A template (covering employment of husband, Jose Sample).
An overview of civil protection orders and how to enforce them.