Crossroads: The Intersection of Immigrant Enforcement and the Child Welfare System

• Published date: 01 September 2013
• Date: 01 September 2013
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/jfcj.12010
• Author: Rosie Hidalgo

Crossroads: The Intersection of Immigrant

Enforcement and the Child Welfare System

By Rosie Hidalgo

ABSTRACT

Diana’s children were placed in foster care when they were one- and three-year-

olds. Their mother was arrested when she fought back to defend herself against an

attack by her abusive boyfriend, Thomas. Thomas assaulted her in her apartment

when she tried to end their relationship. A neighbor heard screams and called the

police. When officers arrived, Thomas told his version of the events, but Diana was

not able to communicate with the officers, since they did not speak Spanish and did

not obtain the assistance of interpreters. The officers saw scratches on Thomas and a

possible bite mark, in addition to bruises and scratches on Diana, arrested both of

them, and called Child Protective Services (CPS) to take the children. Immigration

and Customs Enforcement (ICE) soon issued a detainer when they obtained a copy of

Diana’s fingerprints through the Secure Communities program1in effect in her local

jurisdiction. Upon further review of the circumstances, the prosecutor decided to

drop the charges against Diana; however, ICE took custody of her. She was subse-

quently transferred to a different immigrant detention center 300 miles away.

1 Under Secure Communities, when state or local law enforcement agencies arrest someone and

fingerprint them, those fingerprints are sent to the FBI database and are also automatically sent to a database

managed by ICE. ICE can then issue a detainer or “hold” on an individual so that they can take that person

into immigration detention when they are released by law enforcement. The 287(g) program and CAP

(Criminal Alien Program) are two other ICE-administered programs that have the same goal of screening

individuals in local jails and state prisons for the purpose of identifying deportable non-citizens.

Rosie Hildago, JD, is the Director of Policy at Casa de Esperanza, and has worked in the movement

to end domestic violence for the past 18 years, including at legal service programs where she provided

representation in the areas of family law, domestic violence, child welfare, and education. Casa de Esperanza

operates the National Latin@ Network for Healthy Families and Communities, a national resource center,

that provides timely and relevant information and resources to people working to prevent and eliminate

domestic violence within Latina/o communities.

Author’s Note: This article appeared in Synergy, a newsletter of the NCJFCJ’s Resource Center on

Domestic Violence: Child Protection and Custody (RCDV: CPC). Synergy, Vol. 16, No. 1 (Winter 2013),

focused on immigration and child protection and custody issues in the context of domestic violence, was

guest-edited by Casa de Esperanza, and was translated, for the first time, into Spanish. For a copy of the

English and/or Spanish newsletter, please contact the RCDV: CPC at (800) 527-3223 or visit http://

www.ncjfcj.org/resource-library/publication/domestic-violence. This article was supported by Grant

Number 09EV0415 from the Administration of Children, Family and Youth Services Bureau, U.S. Depart-

ment of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the author(s) and

do not necessarily represent the official view of DHHS or NCJFCJ.

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Juvenile and Family Court Journal 64, no. 4 (Fall) 35

© 2013 National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges