Clarifying Roles: Who Impacts a DUCS¹ Child’s Special Immigrant Juvenile
Status (SIJS) Case?
Attorneys
Child's Immigration Attorney
- An immigration attorney counsels the child about immigration issues and forms of
legal relief from removal, and represents the child’s legal interests before the Executive
Office for Immigration Review (EOIR, or “immigration court”) or before the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
- This attorney might be an employee of a non-profit agency, a pro bono volunteer from a
private law firm, or in private practice. Since SIJS applicants are by definition
without parents able to care for them, the child’s SIJS immigration attorney is generally
not employed by the child’s family. Children have the right to be represented by an attorney
in immigration court, but the federal government does not arrange, ensure or fund this representation.
There are no public defenders in immigration court.
- This attorney may choose to only represent the child in his/her immigration proceedings.
A separate attorney may represent the child in dependency proceedings, or in juvenile
delinquency matters (if such matters arise.)
- Immigration attorneys must be members in good standing of the bar association of any U.S.
state or territory. Besides attorneys, children may be represented in immigration matters by: law
students and law graduates not yet admitted to the bar (with attorney supervision, and
permission from the immigration judge); and individuals accredited by the Board of Immigration Appeals
(who may be partially accredited to represent clients only before DHS, or fully accredited to
represent people before EOIR and DHS).
- The conduct of legal practitioners in federal immigration matters is governed by federal
regulations. In addition, licensed attorneys are governed by state rules of professional conduct.
Child’s Juvenile/Family Court Attorney
- Most juvenile/family court systems provide legal counsel and representation
for children in child welfare proceedings. This attorney represents the child’s
interests in child welfare matters.
- In some places, this role may be combined with the guardian ad litem
(GAL), in which case the child’s attorney must balance what the child
says she or he wants with what appears to be in the child’s best
interests. In other places, this attorney and the GAL will be separate,
with the child’s juvenile court attorney merely representing the child’s
wishes.
- Typically, this attorney is provided free of charge if the child cannot pay
for his or her own representation in juvenile court.
Caseworkers
DUCS Shelter Caseworker
- This caseworker is employed by the Office of Refugee Resettlement
(ORR)-funded shelter facility and has day-to-day responsibility for the
child’s care while in the shelter.
- This caseworker assists with gathering information from family
members and pursuing family reunification options for children in the
shelter. The caseworker may play a role in identifying children without
family reunification options as possible foster care or
SIJS-candidates.
DUCS Foster Care Caseworker
- The child’s foster care caseworker holds primary responsibility for
addressing the child’s needs while in “out-of-home” placement
through the specialized DUCS foster care network. The caseworker
has day-to-day responsibility for a child’s care while in foster care.
- The caseworker’s foundational approach is ensuring that a child’s
needs and best interests are met.
- Related to an SIJS application, the foster care caseworker will
be involved in coordinating with the child’s attorney and foster family
for the services and appointments required for the SIJS application
(such as the medical exam, photos, fingerprints and other
documentation.)
- DUCS foster care caseworkers are bound by ORR’s policies and
procedures, state licensing requirements, agency policies and
procedures, and the Flores Settlement Agreement. Those who are
professionally licensed (such as social workers) are also bound by
their individual licensure requirements and professional ethical
standards.
- The foster care caseworker should be the initial point of contact for
concerns or needs arising in relation to the child, or the child’s
placement (such as issues with the foster family, the living situation,
or service needs).
Child Welfare Caseworker
- This caseworker is sometimes (but not always) assigned when a
child is declared dependent on the juvenile court.
- Responsibilities will vary widely from place to place, but they typically
revolve around general oversight of the child’s care while dependent
upon the local juvenile court.
Court Systems and Judges
Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR)
- EOIR, part of the U.S. Department of Justice, oversees the immigration
courts, where children in removal proceedings have their court
hearings before an immigration judge. EOIR also oversees the Board
of Immigration Appeals (BIA), whose Members review appeals of
immigration court decisions. In addition to determining a child’s
eligibility for legal relief from removal, an immigration judge may
adjudicate the Adjustment of Status (green card) application for a child
with a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)-approved
SIJS application who is still in removal proceedings before the
immigration court.
Juvenile or Family Court
- The structure and name of these courts will vary from state to state, but
they may be called juvenile, family, district, superior or circuit court.
Their judges make determinations about whether a child should be
declared dependent upon the juvenile court due to abuse,
abandonment or neglect. In SIJS cases, these judges must also
determine if it is in the child's best interests not to return to the
country of origin, and if the child is in need of long term foster care.
Probate Court
- Probate courts typically determine matters of legal guardianship and
conservatorship for children who are cared for by non-parental
relatives, but who are not under the custody of the juvenile court. In
other words, the probate court legally recognizes the guardianship
arrangement without taking custody of the child. Some guardianship
children may also be eligible for SIJS.
Family
Birth Family
- The birth family refers to the child’s biological mother and father. The
SIJS-applicant child’s birth family may be deceased, in the country of
origin, or if in the U.S., unable to care for the child. The juvenile court
may attempt to contact the child’s birth family to determine if it is in the
child's best interests to remain in the U.S., and to determine whether
the child has experienced abuse, abandonment or neglect.
Foster Family
- The foster family provides day-to-day care for the child with the
oversight and support of the foster care agency. In coordination
with the foster care caseworker, the foster family may take an
SIJS-applicant child to appointments related to securing SIJS
documentation (medical exams, photos, fingerprints, birth
certificates, etc.) Foster families undergo training, home
inspection, criminal background check, licensure, and regular
oversight to assume responsibility for foster children. They
receive some financial assistance and social services to assist with
the care of the fostered child.
Legal Guardian
- Legal guardians are non-parental relatives or other adults who have
established legal responsibility for a child through the probate court.
They are permitted to make parent-like decisions for a child, but the
parent-child relationship is not formally severed (as with adoption).
Some children in legal guardianship arrangements may be eligible
for SIJS.
Federal Government Agencies
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS): USCIS Field
Operations Officers adjudicate the Special Immigrant application
(form I-360), as well as the Adjustment of Status application (form
I-485) for children whose immigration court proceedings have been
terminated. The Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) adjudicates
appeals of decisions made by USCIS officers.
- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): USICE is the
enforcement branch of DHS. Under its Detention and Removal
Operations division of ICE, the Juvenile and Family Residential
Management Unit adjudicates requests for “specific consent,”
granted—allow a child in federal custody to seek dependency in a
which—if juvenile court. In addition, the office of the Principal
Legal Advisor oversees the trial attorneys who represent the
federal government’s interests in immigration court cases.
Department of Health and Human Services
- Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR): ORR holds legal custody
unaccompanied children detained for immigration violations. Their
Federal Field Specialists act as the official DUCS representative in
their region and liaise with other government entities, including ICE
juvenile coordinators, immigration courts, and others. They may
consult with Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) Field
Coordinators who are recommending a child for a DUCS foster care
placement.
Guardians ad Litem (GAL)
Juvenile/Family Court GAL
- In many juvenile or family court settings, guardians ad litem are
assigned to children, to make recommendations to the
court about the child’s best interests, specific service needs, and to
advocate for permanent placement options. The GAL determines the
child’s best interests, which may be different from the government’s
interests and the parent or guardian’s interests. In some areas, an
SIJS-applicant child will be assigned a GAL as part of the juvenile
court dependency proceedings.
National Voluntary Agencies (or “volags”; Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service – LIRS, and U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops – USCCB)
Field Coordinators
- Field coordinators, located in various places across the U.S., make
foster care recommendations to ORR for children in shelter care. They
assess a child’s interest in, and appropriateness for, a foster care
placement, and they provide foster care recommendations to ORR
and the volag placement staff.
Placement Staff
- Placement staff are based at volag national headquarters (LIRS in
Baltimore, MD; USCCB in Washington, D.C.) and determine the most
appropriate foster care program to meet a particular child’s service
needs. Placement staff are also available for ongoing consultation on
issues related to children’s care.
¹ “DUCS” refers to children in programs funded by the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s (ORR) Division of Unaccompanied Children’s Services programs.
 Download: Clarifying Roles
©Copyright 2008
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Migration and Refugee Services
3211 4th Street, NE
Washington, D.C. 20017
202/541-3352, mrs@usccb.org, www.usccb.org/mrs Reproduction, in whole or in part, for noncommercial purposes (that is, use of the work in a manner in which nothing of value is exchanged) is permitted with the following notice: Reprinted with permission of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops/Migration and Refugee Services (USCCB/MRS).
Last updated: May 2008
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