Workshop Description
Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) provides humanitarian immigration relief and a path to lawful permanent residency for vulnerable immigrant children who have been abused, abandoned, or neglected by one of their parents. This workshop will discuss the important role Congress created for state juvenile and family court judges issuing orders containing SIJS judicial determinations. Faculty will provide up-to-date information about SIJS including tips, tools, and best practices for findings and court orders. The workshop will offer an overview of the full range of benefits and services immigrant children, including those applying for SIJS, that judges encounter in court are eligible to receive in Wisconsin. Attendees will receive a bench book, case law, and on-line tools that provide judges with easy access to legally correct information about SIJS and public benefits eligibility of immigrant children.
Faculty
- Judge Ramona Gonazlez (Ret.). Presiding Judge, La Crosse County, Circuit Court, La Crosse Wisconsin,
- Leslye E. Orloff, Director, NIWAP American University, Washington College of Law
The National Judicial Network
The NJN provides a forum for judges to engage in peer-to-peer learning sessions with judges from across the country, participate in webinars, communicate with other judges in a participants-only confidential email group, access topic-specific publications, and attend future in-person trainings on issues that arise in state courts involving human trafficking and immigrant victims.
For more information, please visit NJN’s webpage metioned below.
The National Judicial Network
Additional Materials
Public Benefit Charts
- Access to State-Funded Public Benefits in Wisconsin for Survivors (Updated November 5, 2024)
- Wisconsin Public Benefits Screening Chart for Immigrant Survivors by Forms of Immigration Relief (updated January 19, 2025)
- All State Public Benefits Charts and Screening Charts
- Public Benefits Map
- The Public Benefits Map can be used to look up benefits in neighboring states.
Brochure and Screening Tools
Impact of USCIS Special Immigrant Juvenile Status 2022 Regulations on State Courts
Special Immigrant Juvenile Statius Bench Book
Special Immigrant Juvenile Status Case Law
Public Benefits Access for SIJS Children
When an SIJS Eligible Child May Be Involved In Criminal Activities