For Immigrant Children Crossing Border, Fears Meet Court Backlog
NPR: All Things Considered (July 14, 2014)
Audie Cornish talks with Michelle Abarca, a supervising attorney with the Americans for Immigrant Justice, on how the surge in unaccompanied children has impacted her organization. Abarca also recommends ways of coping with the influx.
Read Full InterviewNo Childhood Here: Why Central American Children are Fleeing Their Homes
Elizabeth Kennedy, American Immigration Council (July 2014)
This report explores the causes of child migration and the effects of child deportation, focusing on the following questions: What drives these children to flee their homes? What causes their parents to put them and their life’s savings in the hands of smugglers? What happens if they fail to reach the U.S.?
Read Intro & Summary Read Full ReportNon-citizen Youth in the Juvenile Justice System: A Practice Guide to Juvenile Detention Reform
The Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Immigrant Legal Resources Center and Legal Services for Children (June 2014)
This guide addresses the needs of non-citizen youth involved with the juvenile justice system. The authors discuss the impact of immigration status on juvenile justice cases and offer information on the intersection between the juvenile justice and immigration enforcement legal systems.
Get the GuideGuide for Detained and Removed Parents with Child Custody Concerns
Women’s Refugee Commission (June 2014)
Coinciding with the release of ICE’s Directive on Facilitating Parental Interests in the Course of Civil Immigration Enforcement Activities, the Women’s Refugee Commission has released a two-page guide for detained and deported parents with child custody concerns. This guide, which ICE will make available in all immigration detention facilities housing adults for more than 72 hours, provides parents with steps they can take to protect their parental rights; information on family court proceedings, parent-child visitation, and coordinating care of children; as well as helpful ICE resources for detainees.
Read Full TextBarriers to Support Service Use for Latino Immigrant Families Reported to Child Welfare: Implications for Policy and Practice
Megan Finno-Velasquez, MSW, PhD Candidate, University of Southern California School of Social Work (June 2014)
This brief highlights the findings of a study that explores the extent to which immigration status impacts referral to, and receipt of, concrete services by Latino families reported for child maltreatment. Data were drawn from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being II (NSCAW II), a federally funded and nationally representative sample of families investigated by child welfare agencies for maltreatment between April 2008 and September 2009. The brief concludes with recommendations for policy and practice.
Dramatic Surge in the Arrival of Unaccompanied Children Has Deep Roots and No Simple Solutions
Migration Policy Institute (June 13, 2014)
The amount of unaccompanied children arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border has dramatically increased. While it is clear to the Obama administration, policymakers and the country as a whole that something needs to be done, there are no simple solutions to address the complex factors that are pushing unaccompanied children to come to the U.S.
Read ArticleLiving in the United States: A Guide for Immigrant Youth
Immigrant Legal Resource Center (2014)
This resource is designed to help both documented and undocumented immigrant youth know their rights. Topics include Do You Know Your Immigration Status, 10 Things Every Undocumented Youth Should Know, 11 Things Every Youth with A Green Card Should Know, DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), and DAPA (Deferred Action for Parental Accountability).
Access GuideScreening for Human Trafficking: Guidelines for Administering the Traffic Victim Identification Tool
Screening for Human Trafficking: Guidelines for Administering the Traffic Victim Identification Tool
Vera Institute of Justice (June 2014)
This manual is intended mainly for victim service agency staff and other social service
providers, who will administer the Trafficking Victim Identification Tool (TVIT) to clients who are
potential trafficking victims.
What Is the Right Policy Toward Unaccompanied Children at U.S. Borders?
Migration Policy Institute (June 2014)
President Obama assigned responsibility for meeting the needs of the children taken into federal custody to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), describing the inflow as an “urgent humanitarian issue.” Governmental capacity to care for the caseload is overwhelmed as fast as it can be installed. Everyone knows that the current trend is unsustainable: a broader policy response must quickly follow on the humanitarian one.
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