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Sophia Sepp

Immigrants in the Child Welfare System: Case Studies

By | Child Abuse/Neglect Prevention, Child Well-Being, Culture: Issues & Competencies, Deportation, Detention, Family Separation, Highlighted Resources, Immigrant Youth, Immigration Enforcement, Legal Professionals, Legal/Law, Parenting, Practice, Practice Highlight, Resources, Social Work, Social Workers

Immigrants in the Child Welfare System: Case Studies

ABA Center on Children and the Law, American Bar Association (May 2018)

This resource provides guidance on how to navigate a number of scenarios in which children and their families may benefit from support services but face intersecting immigration and child welfare legal challenges. The analysis informs not only child welfare professionals including case workers, attorneys, and judges, but also immigration law professionals whose clients may interact with the state child welfare system. Understanding the complexities that arise when families interact with both systems is a critical step in better advocacy for and support of immigrant children and families.

Trump Administration “Zero Tolerance” Directive Could Send More Unaccompanied Minors To Houston

By | In the News

Trump Administration “Zero Tolerance” Directive Could Send More Unaccompanied Minors To Houston

Elizabeth Trovall, Houston Public Media (May 10, 2018)

A new directive that cracks down on illegal immigration could further stress immigration services and infrastructure in Houston, including detention centers, children’s shelters and access to legal aid.

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As Tougher Border Wall Threatens Migrant Families, Report Finds U.S. Loses 1500 Migrant Children

By | In the News

As Tougher Border Wall Threatens Migrant Families, Report Finds U.S. Loses 1500 Migrant Children

Will Bacha, Citizen Truth (May 10, 2018)

As the Trump administration and its allies in law enforcement and border patrol continue to escalate tensions at the U.S. – Mexico border, thousands of children are caught in the crossfire. Children of immigrants fleeing to the border are being used as bargaining chips in political games that place allegiance to political party and ideology above the rights and welfare of human beings.

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When is Daddy coming home?’ Families still separated a month after massive ICE raid

By | In the News

When is Daddy coming home?’ Families still separated a month after massive ICE raid

Daniella Silva, NBC News (May 8, 2018)

Every day for the last month, Aneth’s 3-year-old daughter has asked her the same question: “When is Daddy coming home?” She searches every room in the house for him and wonders why he wasn’t there for her birthday. Aneth cannot bring herself to tell her youngest child that her father was detained by immigration authorities in what advocates say was the biggest workplace raid in a decade.

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Migrants, young and old, are not always related. Border Patrol says fear of child trafficking forces separations

By | In the News

Migrants, young and old, are not always related. Border Patrol says fear of child trafficking forces separations

Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Los Angeles Times (May 8, 2018)

In Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, where most families have been crossing the border in the last five years, the Border Patrol reported 462 cases of fraud among children and family migrants and prosecuted 60 cases this fiscal year, which began in October. Agents have also separated parents by detaining and charging them with illegal entry in federal criminal court and placing children in temporary shelters.

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Why separate immigrant children from parents? The politics of fear — just indirectly.

By | In the News

Why separate immigrant children from parents? The politics of fear — just indirectly.

Philip Bump, Washington Post (May 11, 2018)

White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly came off as rather callous in an interview with NPR after being asked about separating young children from their parents at the border. NPR’s John Burnett noted that many felt that a policy of pulling children away from parents if families entered the country illegally was “cruel and heartless.” Kelly dismissed that concern. “I wouldn’t put it quite that way,” he said. “The children will be taken care of — put into foster care or whatever.”

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Under Trump Proposal, Lawful Immigrants Might Be Inclined To Shun Health Benefits

By | In the News

Under Trump Proposal, Lawful Immigrants Might Be Inclined To Shun Health Benefits

Christina Jewett and Melissa Bailey and Paula Andalo, Kaiser Health News (May 11, 2018)

The Trump administration is considering a policy change that might discourage immigrants who are seeking permanent residency from using government-supported health care, a scenario that is alarming some doctors, hospitals and patient advocates.

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Undocumented Parents Trying to Reunite With Their Children May Face Deportation Under New Proposal

By | In the News

Undocumented Parents Trying to Reunite With Their Children May Face Deportation Under New Proposal

Katie Shepherd, American Immigration Council (May 11, 2018)

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may soon be checking the immigration status of all potential sponsors of children who arrive unaccompanied at the U.S border, as well as any adult members of the potential sponsor’s household. The new proposal to expand screening likely will have a chilling effect on immigrant communities, leading to unaccompanied children languishing in shelters or foster care and ultimately preventing family reunification.

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Running to stand still: Trauma symptoms, coping strategies, and substance use behaviors in unaccompanied migrant youth

By | Child Well-Being, Highlighted Resources, Immigrant Youth, Research, Research Highlight, Trauma, Unaccompanied Minors, Unaccompanied Minors Research

Running to stand still: Trauma symptoms, coping strategies, and substance use behaviors in unaccompanied migrant youth

Jodi Berger Cardoso, Children and Youth Services Review (April 9, 2018)

The current study explores: (a) the frequency of posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, suicidal ideation, and substance use, (b) trauma exposure at pre-migration, migration, and post-migration, and (c) how youth may cope with these adversities among unaccompanied migrant youth, with special attention to their implications for health and well-being.

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