Chaos, Confusion, And Danger: The Remain In Mexico Program In El Paso
Women’s Refugee Commission (May 16, 2019)
This report highlights a trip to El Paso by the Women’s Refugee Commission and the Remain in Mexico policy and offers recommendations.
One in Seven Adults in Immigrant Families Reported Avoiding Public Benefit Programs in 2018
Hamutal Bernstein, Dulce Gonzalez, Michael Karpman, & Stephen Zuckerman, Urban Institute (May 2019)
This brief uses unique data from a nationally representative, internet-based survey conducted in December 2018 to provide the first systematic evidence on the extent of chilling effects among immigrant families before release of a final public charge rule.
Practice Advisory: Asylum Seekers Stranded in Mexico Because of the Trump Administration’s Restrictive Policies: Firm Resettlement Considerations
Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (April 24, 2019)
This practice advisory takes practitioners through firm resettlement considerations and potential arguments. It also provides discussion around exceptions to the firm resettlement bar and reviews known facts about the legal status of U.S. asylum seekers who are forced to remain in Mexico.
Immigrant Families and Child Welfare Systems: Emerging Needs and Promising Policies
Mark Greenberg, Randy Capps, Andrew Kalweit, Jennifer Grishkin, and Ann Flagg, Migration Policy Institute (April 2019)
Some states and localities have developed specialized policies and practices for working with children in immigrant families, though these vary considerably. This report explores this diversity of approaches, drawing on interviews with child welfare officials from 14 states, six counties, and New York City. For each of nine key issues—ranging from agency staffing and training, to language access policies and cooperation with foreign consulates—the researchers identify a recommended approach and discuss relevant policies and practices.
We Must Preserve the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 for Unaccompanied Children
Women’s Refugee Commission (April 3, 2019)
In an attempt to deter unaccompanied children from coming to the U.S., the Trump administration has made efforts to reduce or eliminate protections within the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (“TVPRA”) and to expedite processing for children already in the U.S. This backgrounder explains the danger of these changes, and how they protections for children seeking safety in the US.
Mitigating the Effects of Trauma among Young Children of Immigrants and Refugees: The Role of Early Childhood Programs
Maki Park and Caitlin Katsiaficas, Migration Policy Institute (April 2019)
A child’s early years are a time of exceptional growth, and ones that can be profoundly affected by traumatic experiences. Research has firmly disproven the idea that infants and toddlers are “too young” to be affected by such experiences, leading to an increased awareness of the need for trauma-informed services for children. Early childhood education and care (ECEC) programs have the potential to play a central role in identifying and addressing the effects of trauma, with lifelong benefits.
How Early Childhood Providers Can Create “Safe Space” Policies
Rebecca Ullrich, CLASP (April 2019)
CLASP has released a guide to creating “safe space” policies for early childhood programs. Safe-space policies safeguard programs against immigration enforcement actions and protect families’ safety and privacy. In this guide, advocates, providers, and policymakers will find information about developing and implementing safe-space policies, sample policy text that can be adapted by individual early childhood programs, and a list of key resources for providers and parents.
Approaches to Protect Children’s Access to Health and Human Services in an Era of Harsh Immigration Policy
Hirokazu Yoshikawa, Ajay Chaudry, Sarah Rendon Garcia, Heather Koball, & Trenel Francis, NYU Institute of Human Development and Change (March 28, 2019)
This report highlights key barriers facing low-income immigrant families in the U.S. immigration policy and enforcement context and discusses strategies that aim to mitigate or overcome barriers to safety-net program access for low-income immigrant families.
Keeping Immigrant Families in the Child Protection System Together
Ann Park, American Bar Association (March 26, 2019)
This article discusses legislation enacted in California that addresses some of these questions, as well as recent federal policy that helps safeguard the parental rights of undocumented immigrants involved in federal immigration enforcement proceedings. Additionally, this article reviews federal child welfare law and policy that support best practices for working with immigrant families.
Children as Bait: Impacts of the ORR-DHS Information-Sharing Agreement
Women’s Refugee Commission, National Immigrant Justice Center, Washington College of Law (March 26, 2019)
This report reviews the potential impacts of the new Memorandum of Agreement between the HHS and DHS to share information about unaccompanied children in government custody and their prospective sponsors. The report evaluates findings from a survey of individuals involved in the sponsorship application and vetting processes—including attorneys, biometrics technicians and fingerprint specialists, and child advocates—in order to better understand and document the full range of implications of this new MOA.
