Working with Immigrant Communities in Your CCR Gail Pendleton, Executive Director, ASISTA Immigration Assistance Michael LaRiviere, Salem MA Police Department Homero Lopez, Managing Attorney, Catholic Charities – Archdiocese of New Orleans

Goals As a result of this workshop you will be better able to Develop and improve your responses and work with immigrant survivors Identify and explore promising practices for law enforcement, prosecutors, and advocates working with immigrant communities What can you do? Who do you need to work? How can you more effectively reach and work safely with immigrant survivors?

Who are your communities? Who are you already working with? Who is not accessing your services? Are immigrant CBOs involved in your CCR? Are immigration lawyers in your CCR?

Quick check-in: May Immigrant Survivors. . . Help hold perpetrators accountable? Extra credit: If yes, how? Seek child custody and support in civil court? Extra credit: What do Constitution and Supreme Court say about who can access our courts? Obtain community based services? Extra credit: What is “necessary to protect life and safety”? Does this apply to you and/or your CCR participants?

Immigration Q & A Is being undocumented a crime? Extra credit: Which undocumented immigrants have NOT committed a crime? Can an undocumented person apply to work legally? Extra credit: What is necessary to get legal work authorization? Can undocumented immigrants apply directly to be US citizens? Extra credit: What does someone have to have first? Can undocumented survivors apply directly for a green card? Extra credit: What immigration options are available to survivors?

Immigrant Survivor Realities What may be stopping immigrant survivors from accessing safety and justice?

How can you help overcome Language & accessibility Information/misinformation Potential for deportation/removal Experience in the home country Economic barriers Cultural and religious pressure

What Congress Has Done Access to public benefits Access to legal services Access to services (LEP) Special routes to immigration status

Congress created these special options Special Immigrant Juveniles Conditional Residence Waiver (for those with green cards VAWA Self-petitioning & Cancellation U Visas T Visas Work authorization for nonimmigrant spouses of H visa holders

How can you help them with this? Advocates? Law enforcement officers? Judges? Lawyers?

Some possible roles: Law Enforcement Ensure survivors can tell you their story (interpretation issues) Refer for services, realizing they may not know What a shelter is That they can access justice and what that means, i.e., protection orders Abusers will have told them they will be deported if they try Sign certifications for U visas if they are helpful or have been helpful Provide letters of support with facts about how they helped and what harm you saw

Some possible roles: Judges NCJFCJ training, if you are interested in more Recognize when immigration status (or lack) is being used as a weapon in your courtroom Make findings in protection orders and other civil matters that are particularly helpful to immigrant survivors Encourage your civil and criminal systems to get trained

Some possible roles: Lawyers Family and criminal law Countering immigration status intimidation Learn and ask for useful factual findings Immigration Do you know about BIA recognition and accreditation? Wyoming Coalition is providing immigration legal services this way Work with advocates and LEOs to identify and pursue immigration status

Some possible roles: Advocates Explain how our systems work ”negotiate” safe cooperation with law enforcement if fear is an impediment What confidentiality means and your relationship with government systems What their rights are in those systems Do immigration safety planning Get the full story and help them frame it Help them find immigration representation Corroborate non-physical violence and harm from the crime Help identify and creatively collect supporting documentation Other things you are doing/think you could do?

Immigration Safety Planning Where are they most at risk? Collect and copy important documents (identity, medical and financial information) Carry name of attorney and your phone number Letter from you saying you are working with her and how to reach you Ensure they have powers of attorney and legally enforceable plans for child custody in place Ensure your offices have plan for responding if contacted Criminal legal system Courthouse enforcement/ local law enforcement share fingerprint info with ICE/

Tools: collaboration and common ground ”Ancestor” exercise Identify, air out and address myths and issues Share and discuss special DV forms and barriers Discuss roles and priorities Be clear and honest on where they conflict and agree

Example: IMMIGRANT REALITIES: Ancestor Exercise How did your ancestors get to the U.S? What were their goals and aspirations? What barriers did they experience to full participation in society? 9:00 –– 9:30/9:45 Gail

Best outreach practices What works for you? What hasn’t worked? Where do your immigrant survivors go? Who is a trusted messenger for them?

How we can help ASISTA Immigration Assistance = questions@asistahelp.org Connect you with others in your area Train you = webinars, in-person, you tell us what works for you Special BIA accreditation and recognition training for advocates with CLINIC Help you with individual cases (technical assistance) Identify possible options And what you can do to help Find an immigration expert to help Help you frame the case Communicate with government decision makers to resolve problems