1. Presented by the ABA Working Group on Unaccompanied Minor Immigrants and the ABA Judicial Division October 27, 2015 Primer on the State Court Judge’s Role in Special Immigrant Juvenile Classification

2. Participating in the Webinar A tone has been added to indicate when the slide should be advanced.

3. Introduction Immigration & SIJS Background USCIS on SIJS: Overview, Juvenile Court Orders, and Federal Role in Adjudication Process State Court Perspective and Common Challenges Q&A

4. Presenter biographies The Honorable Katherine G. Essrig serves as a Circuit Court Judge in Florida’s 13th Judicial Circuit in Tampa. She has served as a judge since 1991, and she currently is the administrative judge for her circuit’s unified family court, as well as the administrative judge for that court’s juvenile dependency court. She previously served as a judge in her circuit’s domestic relations and criminal divisions. Judge Essrig serves as a member of the Hillsborough County Children’s Board, as well as of the Florida Supreme Court Steering Committee on Families and Children in the Courts. She is the recipient of the 2012 William E. Gladstone Award, which is presented annually to a Florida judge who has demonstrated a long-term commitment to safeguarding the welfare and dignity of children, as well as the 2015 Casey Families Program National Judicial Leadership Award. Angie Junck is a supervising attorney at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center in San Francisco. Angie joined the ILRC in 2005 as a New Voices fellow, and specializes in immigrant youth, the immigration consequences of crime and delinquency, and immigration enforcement issues. She is a co-author of several ILRC publications including, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and Other Immigration Options for Children & Youth. She sits on the American Bar Association's Immigration Commission and is the co- chair of the Immigration Committee of the ABA's Criminal Justice Section.

5. Eileen Matuszak presently works for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) – the federal agency that adjudicates applications for immigration relief for victims of child abuse and neglect, known as the Special Immigrant Juvenile (or SIJ) program. She works at the USCIS Office of Policy & Strategy on policy, regulations and outreach related to the SIJ program. Eileen previously worked for seven years with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, overseeing services for unaccompanied children in federal custody. Prior to joining the federal government, she worked for six years in the non-profit sector in the field of adoption and foster care. Eileen has a Master's Degree in Social Work with a concentration in Child Welfare from the University of Wisconsin Madison. ** The webinar presentation by USCIS will not be recorded and cannot distributed. Supplemental overview materials will be available on the webinar recording and online at www.ambar.org/cwimmigration and www.ambar.org/ican.** www.ambar.org/cwimmigrationwww.ambar.org/ican

6. © 2015 Immigrant Legal Resource Center Immigrant Children Approximately 23.2 percent of children in the United States are either immigrants or the children of immigrants – Many children of immigrants are citizens, having been born in the United States – Other children are without legal status, but have grown up almost entirely in the United States and consider this country home May not speak the language of their home country May be unaware of lack of legal status – Still other children may have arrived to the U.S. recently, fleeing violence, abuse or other harm Unaccompanied; or With a parent or parents

7. © 2015 Immigrant Legal Resource Center Unaccompanied Immigrant Children (UACs) Defined A child who: – has no lawful immigration status in the United States; – has not attained 18 years of age; – has no parent or legal guardian in the United States, or no parent or legal guardian in the United States available to provide care and physical custody. Source: 6 U.S.C. §279(g)(2) 7

8. © 2015 Immigrant Legal Resource Center Who are UACs? In FY 2014: – UACs primarily from 3 countries: Guatemala (32%), El Salvador (29%) and Honduras (34%), though include children from all over the World – 66% male and 34% female – 27% were under 14 years old 8

9. © 2015 Immigrant Legal Resource Center Influx of Unaccompanied Children Sharp increase in UAC’s detained in recent years – From 2003-2011, average of 6,775 referrals per fiscal year – 2012: 13,625 referrals – 2013: 24,668 referrals – 2014: 57,496 referrals – 2015 through August: 23,670 referrals

10. © 2015 Immigrant Legal Resource Center Why Are Children Coming to the U.S.? Children have many reasons for coming to U.S. but researchers consistently cite increased violence in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala as primary recent motivation, particularly gang or cartel violence Other reasons for migrating include poverty and family reunification For further information, see American Immigration Council, Children in Danger: A Guide to the Humanitarian Challenge at the Border (July 2014): http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/special-reports/children-danger- guide-humanitarian-challenge-border http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/special-reports/children-danger- guide-humanitarian-challenge-border 10

11. © 2015 Immigrant Legal Resource Center Why Are Children Coming to the U.S.? “My grandmother is the one who told me to leave. She said: ‘If you don’t join, the gang will shoot you. If you do, the rival gang or the cops will shoot you. But if you leave, no one will shoot you.’” -- Honduras, Age 17 “I am here because the gang threatened me. One of them ‘liked’ me. Another gang member told my uncle that he should get me out of there because the guy who liked me was going to do me harm. In El Salvador they take young girls, rape them and throw them in plastic bags. My uncle told me it wasn’t safe for me to stay there. They told him that on April 3, and I left on April 7.” -- El Salvador, Age 15 “ My step-father used to beat me. He would get angry at me and hit me with a belt, punch me, or beat me with a metal pipe. I would protect my mother and he would get angry at me.” – Mexico, Age 17 Source: UNHCR Report: Children on the Run 11

12. © 2015 Immigrant Legal Resource Center Why Are Children Coming to the U.S.? “In El Salvador, there is a wrong—it’s being young. You’re stalked by gangs, authorities beat and follow kids because they don’t trust them; they think they’re gang members. There are no jobs for young people because employers don’t trust the kids either... It is better to be old.” - Carlos “Despite the horrific conditions that some of the children underwent in making the journey to the United States, the majority stated they would still make the trip, even with the knowledge of how difficult the journey was. As one child explained, “If you stay you will die, if you leave, you might…either way it’s better to try.”” Source: Women’s Refugee Commission: Forced From Home 12

13. © 2015 Immigrant Legal Resource Center Border Crisis or Humanitarian Crisis? UNHCR data reveals that no less than 58% of the 404 children they interviewed were forcibly displaced because they suffered or faced harms that indicated a potential or actual need for international protection. Many children are turning themselves over to Border Patrol agents upon arrival and are not seeking to evade apprehension. 13

14. © 2015 Immigrant Legal Resource Center Basics of Immigration Law: Immigration Status While many children who enter the U.S. do not have lawful immigration status, some will be eligible for humanitarian immigration relief, including: Asylum, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, U visas, and T visas Some youth may be eligible for multiple forms of humanitarian immigration relief 14

15. © 2015 Immigrant Legal Resource Center Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) provides legal protection for certain undocumented immigrant youth who have been abused, abandoned, or neglected, by allowing them to legalize their immigration status and become lawful permanent residents Obtaining SIJS is a two or three step process: first step takes place in state juvenile court and the remaining steps take place with USCIS or Immigration Court – In this sense, SIJS is a unique hybrid of federal and state law – the federal relief depends on initial findings by a state court What is SIJS?

16. © 2015 Immigrant Legal Resource Center SIJS was created in 1990. The original definition of a Special Immigrant Juvenile was an immigrant: (i) who has been declared dependent on a juvenile court located in the United States and has been deemed eligible by that court for long-term foster care, and (ii) for whom it has been determined in administrative or judicial proceedings that it would not be in the alien’s best interest to be returned to the alien’s or parent’s previous country of nationality or country of last habitual residence. SIJS Basics: History

17. © 2015 Immigrant Legal Resource Center In 1997 Congress amended the statute to (among other things) require the juvenile to have “been deemed eligible... for long-term foster care due to abuse, neglect, or abandonment.” SIJS Basics: History

18. © 2015 Immigrant Legal Resource Center In 2008, Congress significantly amended the statute through The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA), expanding the group of children eligible for SIJS Among other things, TVPRA: replaced the “deemed eligible for long-term foster care” language with “whose reunification with 1 or both of the immigrant’s parents is not viable due to abuse, neglect, abandonment, or a similar basis found under State law” expanded definition by adding language for those not reunifying due to “similar basis under state law” added requirement that no child can be denied SIJS on account of “age” as long as he/she is under 21 at the time of filing SIJS Basics: History

19. © 2015 Immigrant Legal Resource Center Juvenile Court A juvenile court is defined as any “court located in the United States having jurisdiction under State law to make judicial determinations about the custody and care of juveniles.” 8 C.F.R. § 204.11(a) Kinds of courts that have jurisdiction over “custody and care of juveniles” vary among and within states, but may include: – Juvenile Delinquency Courts – Probate/Guardianship Courts – Juvenile Dependency Courts – Family Courts – District Courts 19

20. © 2015 Immigrant Legal Resource Center Who might be eligible for SIJS? A child who was raised in the United States, enters into the child welfare system and is now living with one parent, when the other parent’s reunification services have been terminated by the court A child who arrived unaccompanied to the United States and is now residing with a paternal uncle who has petitioned to be his guardian A child who has lived in the United States since the age of 6, was adjudicated a ward of the juvenile court after a delinquency offense and has been placed on probation, who cannot reunify with his mother because of abandonment A child who arrived to the United States in December 2014 who was abused by her father in her home country and is now living safely with her mother, who has been granted sole legal custody of her 20

21. © 2015 Immigrant Legal Resource Center 1) Be under 21 years of age; 2) Be unmarried; 3) Have been declared dependent upon a juvenile court located in the United States or the court has legally committed the youth to or placed the youth under the custody of an agency or department of the state, or an individual or entity appointed by a state or juvenile court. For a youth to be eligible for SIJS, he/she must: 4) Reunification with one or both parents is not viable due to abuse, neglect or abandonment, or a similar basis under state law; and 5) It is not in the young person's best interest to be returned to his country of nationality or last residence. The juvenile court must also find that: SIJS Basics: Current Eligibility Requirements

22. © 2015 Immigrant Legal Resource Center Steps of an SIJS Case – State court order making the three findings required for SIJS; – Application for a Special Immigrant Juvenile visa (Form I-360) with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS); 22 ─Application for adjustment of status (a green card) using Form I-485 either with USCIS or in the Immigration Court.

23. State court perspective “New” type of case? Reunification with one or both parents not viable due to abuse, neglect, abandonment, or similar basis under state law Evidence

24. Next Webinar Judge’s Choice: Presenters Answer Your Questions on SIJS Tuesday, December 8 3:00-4:00 pm ET/12:00-1:00 pm PT Set the agenda for this webinar! Send questions for presenters to consider before December 8 to Cristina.Cooper@americanbar.org.Cristina.Cooper@americanbar.org If you haven’t already registered, please do so here: http://tinyurl.com/p87pl4f http://tinyurl.com/p87pl4f

25. Q & A

26. Additional questions? Contact: Cristina Ritchie Cooper, Esq.Scott Trowbridge, Esq. Senior CounselStaff AttorneyABA Center on Children and the Law Cristina.Cooper@americanbar.orgScott.Trowbridge@americanbar.org

27. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Resources USCIS email box for state juvenile courts and child welfare agencies State juvenile courts and child welfare agencies may contact USCIS to ask general questions or request outreach on the SIJ program by submitting a request to: USCIS- IGAOutreach@uscis.dhs.gov.USCIS- IGAOutreach@uscis.dhs.gov USCIS informational resources The following information and resources about the SIJ program are available at http://www.uscis.gov/green-card/special-immigrant-juveniles/special-immigrant- juveniles-sij-status:SIJ program http://www.uscis.gov/green-card/special-immigrant-juveniles/special-immigrant- juveniles-sij-status Immigration Relief for Abused Children: Information for Juvenile Court Judges, Child Welfare Workers, and Others Working with Abused Children (Brochure) Immigration Relief for Abused Children: Information for Juvenile Court Judges, Child Welfare Workers, and Others Working with Abused Children Special Immigrant Juvenile Status: Information for Child Welfare Workers (Flier) Special Immigrant Juvenile Status: Information for Child Welfare Workers Special Immigrant Juvenile Status: Information for Juvenile Courts (Flier) Special Immigrant Juvenile Status: Information for Juvenile Courts USCIS email updates (Email alert service that allows you to receive important USCIS news and information as soon as it's available): http://www.uscis.gov/tools/get-email- updateshttp://www.uscis.gov/tools/get-email- updates