The Intersection of Immigration and Child Welfare Law

The Intersection of Immigration and Child Welfare Law:

Identifying the Overlap and Building Connections

April 26, 2017, 1-5 pm

Ritz Carlton Tysons Corner, VA

Draft Preconference Agenda

1:00 – 1:15 pmWelcome and Framing the Day

Prudence Beidler Carr, JD, ABA Center on Children and the Law

1:15 – 2:45 pmIntersection of Immigration and Child Welfare Law: Case Examples

Heidi Altman, JD, National Immigration Law Center

Randi Mandelbaum, JD, Rutgers Law School Child Advocacy Clinic

Elizabeth Thornton, JD

Abigail Trillin, JD, Legal Services for Children

A panel of immigration and child welfare lawyers representing children and adults will walk through typical cases, identifying where overlap between child welfare and immigration issues exists for child and parent clients, and at what key stages an attorney may need information about or from the other field.

Concrete case examples will highlight a range of topics to which practicing attorneys should be attuned, including: parties’ rights to representation in each type of case; a parent’s right to return to the U.S. after deportation; differences between ICE, CBP, USCIS, and immigration court roles and interactions with children and families; language interpretation and translation resources, and treatment of citizen vs. noncitizen children, parents, and kin in child welfare cases.

2:45 – 3:00 pmBreak

3:00 – 4:00 pmAdministrative and Legislative Action and How it Affects Your Practice

Michelle Brané, JD, Women’s Refugee Commission

Wendy Cervantes, MA, Center on Law and Social Policy

Cristina Ritchie Cooper, JD, ABA Center on Children and the Law

Jennifer Podkul, JD, Kids in Need of Defense

Panelists will provide an overview of relevant 2017 executive orders, proposed legislation, USCIS and ICE trends, and other actions, with explanation of how those actions may affect immigrant children and families and attorney practice.

4:00 – 5:00 pmBuilding the Network between Child Welfare and Immigration Lawyers

Prudence Beidler Carr, JD, ABA Center on Children and the Law Dalia Castillo-Granados, JD, Children’s Immigration Law Academy

Meredith Linsky, JD, ABA Commission on Immigration

Abigail Trillin, JD, Legal Services for Children

Panelists will facilitate a conversation about strengthening and maintaining connections across fields by identifying existing gaps in the network, action steps for attorneys to take, and how to access resources in each field. They will also address what national attorney organizations and local attorney organizations can do to better to connect these fields.