reuniting immigrant families act
TRANSCRIPT
The Reuniting Immigrant Families Act: A Case Study on California’s
Senate Bill 1064 SPARC Webinar/First Focus
Tuesday, May 28, 2012
State Policy and Reform Center (SPARC)
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First Focus is proud to coordinate SPARC, a project designed to help state child welfare advocates make an even bigger impact, and supported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative. Sign up for email updates at http://childwelfaresparc.com/ Policy Briefs and Webinars available at the SPARC website
Workshop Overview 1. INTRODUCTIONS of presenters 2. REVIEW SB1064 legislation 3. FEDERAL OVERVIEW of comprehensive
immigration reform and legislation impacting children and family
4. AN INSIDER’S PERSPECTIVE of developing state legislatino in partnership with community partners
5. PROTECTING FAMILY UNITY, an update from Arizona
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Presenter Background
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Yali Lincroft is a Children’s Policy Consultant for First Focus Campaign for Children. She is a founding member of the Migration and Child Welfare National Network and author of numerous publications focused on the intersection of immigration and child welfare including “When A Parent is Incarcerated: A Primer for Social Workers” for the Annie E. Casey Foundation and “A Social Worker’s Toolkit for Working with Immigrant Families.” She is the primary author of SB1064. CONTACT: [email protected]
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Presenter Background
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Wendy Cervantes is the Vice President of Immigration and Child Rights Policy for First Focus Campaign for Children. Before joining First Focus, she worked at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, was the Director of Programs at La Plaza, an adult ESL instructor, and a transnational community organizer. She is an advisory member of the We Belong Together Campaign. She has written policy briefs on Comprehensive Immigration Reform amendments, DREAM Act, HELP bill, and other immigration/child welfare legislation. CONTACT: [email protected]
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Presenter Background
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Alexandra Salgado is a Legislative Aide for Senator Kevin de León (D-22). She managed SB 1064 by developing the policy, building support coalitions, and advocating for the measure. Currently, she staffs Senator De León on public safety, governmental organization, immigration, foster care and judiciary issues. She received a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Stanford University, where she was active in various sociopolitical groups focused on immigrant and worker rights. CONTACT: [email protected]
Presenter Background
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Laurie Melrood, is an Arizona consultant on child and family welfare. Formerly a CASA Coordinator and adoptions director for the Pima County Juvenile Court, she was most recently the founding director of KARE Family Center, a nationally recognized multi-service center for grandparents and relatives raising children. She has developed resources, provided workshops, and borderland tours emphasizing social work best practice for families involved in arrest, detention, and deportation. CONTACT: [email protected]
About SB1064 (de León) • Bill signed by California Governor Brown on
September 30, 2012. • Became first law in the country to address family
separation issues as a consequence of the current immigration enforcement system.
• The goal of the bill is to keep children with their families and out of the public child welfare system whenever possible, and help separated families receive appropriate care and due process.
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Summary of SB1064 1. Authorize the court to provide an extension in the
family reunification period 2. Prohibit the use of immigration status as a
disqualifying factor in evaluating placement of a child with a relative. Authorize use of a relative’s foreign consulate id card or passport to be used to initiate criminal records or fingerprint clearance
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Summary of SB1064 3. Require the California Department of Social
Services (CDSS) to provide guidance to social workers on referring children eligible for immigration relief options like Special Immigrant Juvenile Status to receive assistance in acquiring protective status
4. Require CDSS to provide guidance to counties to establish MOUs with appropriate foreign consulates in child custody cases
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http://childwelfaresparc.com/ http://sb1064.org Website with California legislative history,
testimony, media, etc. http://s4185.org Website with New York legislative history
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For More Information
The Reuniting immigrant Families Act
Wendy Cervantes, Vice President of Immigration and Child Rights Policy
May 28, 2013
National context
Why the increase in family separations? • Shift from worksite raids to partnership with local law
enforcement
• No guidelines for protecting parents and children impacted by enforcement actions under 25 people
• Failure of prosecutorial discretion policy/ mandatory detention laws
Challenges for detained or deported parents with children in the child welfare system
• Lack of coordination between local ICE and child welfare agencies,
including lack of universal policies across the two systems
• Inability for parents to visit with their child, meet child welfare case plan requirements, or participate in family court proceedings
• Bias among child welfare staff & family court judges against detained or deported parents and undocumented caregivers
• Strict child welfare timelines that can result in the inappropriate termination of parental rights
• Difficulty in coordinating reunification at the time of a parent’s release, removal, or after removal
Federal Legislative Efforts • HELP Separated Children Act ( Franken S.1399/ Woolsey H.R. 2607, 112th
Congress)
• Help Separated Families Act (Roybal-Allard H.R. 6128, 112th Congress)
• Foster Children Opportunity Act (O’Rourke H.R. 2036, 113th Congress)
• Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act (S.744, 113th Congress)
• Includes provisions to promote family for kids with detained or deported parents in child welfare system
• Includes provisions to promote family for kids with detained or deported parents in child welfare system
• Help Separated Children Act amendment (Franken 7) passed by unanimous SJC vote
• Discretion for Immigration Judges
• Pending House Immigration Reform Bill
Federal Administrative Reforms
• Detainee Locator
• Risk Assessment Tool
• Transfer Policy
• Pending Parental Rights Directive
SB 1064 (DE LEÓN) REUNITING IMMIGRANT FAMILIES ACT
Developing Policy • Senator De Leon’s interest in the issue:
• Devastating impact of Secure Communities, an information sharing program designed to identify immigrants in U.S. jails who are deportable under US immigration law.
• Arrests can lead to deportation if Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) places a hold on immigrant, regardless of the charge and even if not convicted.
• “Shattered Families” (Nov. 2011) report by Applied Research
Center: provided a comprehensive analysis of the impact of the immigration system on families in the child welfare system.
State Perspective
• How can we improve our state child welfare system in the absence of federal action? • Clear that the most impactful improvements needed to happen with
ICE, which had failed to develop practices to protect children.
• Role of local law enforcement
• Role of child protective services and social workers
Research • From a state perspective, the only real solution was to
improve how the child welfare system interacts with immigrant parents.
• Understanding child welfare system in California
• Decentralized structure: Counties have a lot of flexibility and control in determining regulations and practices.
• County limitations: Many rural counties do not have the same staffing capabilities as the larger urban counties.
• Evaluating best practices • Looked to counties that had immigrant specific approaches,
specifically LA County and Santa Clara County.
Building Coalitions • The most helpful approach was getting strong support
from both child advocacy groups and immigrant rights organization.
• In order to create a broad coalition, we targeted lead groups from both issue areas that were willing to make SB 1064 a priority bill. • First Focus Campaign for Children • Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) • California Immigrant Policy Center (CIPC)
Framing the Issue
• Important to make child welfare the central focus. • Many state representatives have difficulty
understanding how the immigration system works and why families get separated in the first place.
• Highlighting stories:
• Focus on children, not why the parent was arrested
Negotiating with Interested Parties • Addressing California Department of Social Service’s
concerns: • Recognizing Department’s limitations, especially in an era of
budget restraints. • Pushing the envelope: Support from child welfare experts
(including County Welfare Directors Association of California) allowed us to understand what were reasonable expectations.
• Amendments to secure the Governor’s signature: • Extending deadlines • Conforming bill language to existing law and regulations
For more information… Please feel free to contact me for SB 1064 factsheets and any additional information:
Alexandra Salgado Office of Senator Kevin de León Phone: 916-651-4022 Email: [email protected]
PROTECTING IMMIGRANT FAMILY UNITY: UPDATE FROM ARIZONA
Laur ie Melrood , LMSW Ad vocacy & Consult ing LLC Tucson , Ar izona lm elrood @gm ail.com May 28, 2013
THE REUNITING IMMIGRANT FAMILIES ACT
FEDERAL & STATE ENFORCEMENT POLICIES AFFECTING IMMIGRANT FAMILIES IN ARIZONA
ICE ACCESS p rogram s -- Agreem ent s o f Coop erat ion in Com m un it ies t o Enhance Saf et y and Secur it y, an um b rella en f o rcem ent st rat egy
287-G Agreem ent s Secure Com m un it ies (S-Com m ) Cr im inal Alien Program Nat ional Fugit ive Op erat ions Program (N-FOP)
Ar izona SB 1070 (Sup p or t Our Law En f o rcem ent & Saf e
Neighb orhood s Act ) 2010 Ar izona Taxp ayer & Cit izen Pro t ect ion Act , 2010
COLLABORATIVE RESPONSES TO ENHANCE IMMIGRANT FAMILY UNITY
Press Conf erence on “Shat t ered Fam ilies” ASU Schoo l o f Social Work, 20 Sp onsor ing Organ izat ions
In t er -reg ional Im m igran t Paren t and Ch ild Welf are Com m it t ee -- Juven ile Cour t s, ICE, AG, CPS, Legal Organ izat ions, Ch ild Ad vocat es
SB 1303 and SB 1307 -- St at e Sen .Lop ez, Ch ild Ad vocat es, Im m igrat ion law yers, Gir l Scout s, Grand p aren t s Raising Grand ch ild ren
Fam ily Un it y Manual -- U o f Ar izona Law Schoo l, FIRRP, St ep t oe & Johnson (DC)
FUTURE TRENDS: SUPPORTING IMMIGRATION REFORM WITH
CHANGES FROM THE BOTTOM UP
The Im m igran t Paren t & Ch ild Welf are Com m it t ee, r shelley@cour t s.az.gov
“Shat t ered ” -d ocum ent ary b y Jaim e Gonzalez and Lat ino Po licy Coalit ion , w w w .lat inop o licycoalit ion .o rg
“Le Pr ix d es En f an t s” -- d ocum ent ary on sep arat ed f am ilies, Sp an ish w / French sub t it les, France, ARTE-TV, Fall 2013, lugones.rob er t o@gm ail.com
Com m unit ies o f Pro t ect ion /Red es d e Pro t eccion -- Fam ilies Organ izing t o Pro t ect Paren t al Righ t s, nom oreb ord ers@gm ail.com
Com m unit y Ed ucat ion : Bord er Social Service Tours lm elrood @gm ail.com , May and Oct ob er , 2013
COME VISIT!
