Dawn Marie Rubio, our Juvenile Court Administrator, recently sent a memo to the judges, trial court executives and the clerks of the court addressing the main points of the ICE directive. Her insights are below.
You can also download a copy of Ms. Rubio's memo and the ICE Directive HERE.
Re: ICE Directive 11064.1, Facilitating
Parental Interests in the Course of Civil Immigration Enforcement Activities
Parent
attorneys should be aware of the attached directive issued by the U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] because of its implications for child
welfare proceedings.
The
ICE directive defines a "proceeding in which a family or dependency court
or child welfare agency adjudicates or enforces the rights of parents or minor
children through the determination or modification of parenting plans, child
custody, visitation, or support, or the distribution of property or other legal
obligations in the context of parental rights." The directive is applicable to alien parents
or legal guardians who: (1) are the primary caretakers of minor children
regardless of the children's citizenship, (2) who have a direct interest in a
family court or child welfare proceeding, and (3) whose minor children are U.S.
citizens or lawful permanent residents.
The stated policy is that "ICE personnel should ensure that the
agency's immigration enforcement activities do not unnecessarily disrupt the
parental rights of both alien parents and legal guardians of minor
children."
The
directive includes requirements for ICE to:
·
Designate
a person in each field office to serve as the point of contact on all issues
related to parental rights in that given area;
·
Hold
detained parents or legal guardians in detention facilities that are reasonably
close to where their children are living and to the location of the family
court or child welfare proceedings whenever possible;
·
Facilitate
the ability of detained parents or legal guardians to participate in family
court and child welfare proceedings that affect their parental rights, if a
parent provides evidence of a hearing and facilitation of their participation
does not pose an undue logistical burden to ICE or raise safety or security
concerns;
·
Facilitate
the ability of detained parents or legal guardians to participate in family
court and child welfare proceedings through video or teleconferencing when
in-person participation is not possible;
·
Facilitate
visits between detained parents or legal guardians and their children when a
parent or guardian can demonstrate that such visits are required as a
precondition for family reunification;
·
Accommodate,
to the extent practicable, the efforts of detained parents or legal guardians
with final orders of removal to make arrangements for their children, such as,
joining them in their country of removal or arranging for a guardian so their
children may remain in the U.S.;
·
Provide
detained parents or legal guardians, or their legal counsel of other
representatives with sufficient notice of deportation, when such notice does
not raise a security concern, so that travel arrangements may be made for the
children of the detained parents or legal guardians;
·
Coordinate,
to the extent practicable, the access of detained parents or legal guardians to
legal counsel, consulates and consular officials, courts, and family members in
the weeks prior to deportation, in order to execute signed documents, including
powers of attorney, guardianship agreements, passport applications, and the
purchase airline tickets; and
·
Consider,
on a case-by-case basis, facilitating the temporary return of detained parents
or legal guardians to participate in a hearing related to termination of their
parental rights or legal guardianship rights if the family court has determined
that their physical presence at the hearing is required.
The name
and contact information for the local ICE Parental Rights Coordinator is:
Robert Cordero
Assistant Field Office Director
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Enforcement and Removal Operations
Salt Lake City Field Office
(o) 801-886-7414 (c) 801-502-2868
Finally, a few links to the ICE
Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations outreach website that may be
helpful to you regarding this issue.
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