Tag Archive for: international child custody

How Undocumented Immigrant Parents Can Safeguard Their Children

 

Updated July 11, 2019:

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans to conduct raids across the country on Sunday, July 14, to arrest thousands of undocumented migrant families, according to reporting by the New York Times

Raids are expected to take place in at least 10 cities, and will occur “over multiple days” and will include “collateral” deportations in which “authorities might detain immigrants who happened to be on the scene, even though they were not targets of the raids.”

Back in 2017, as Trump administration officials began signaling significant changes in immigration policy enforcement, we wrote about how undocumented immigrant parents have the right to establish Power of Attorney provisions for their U.S. citizen children to establish temporary custody and financial access in a worst case scenario.

This information may be more relevant than ever. With federal detention centers for immigrant children as close by as Pennsylvania, this is information worth sharing.

The original blog follows… 

It’s estimated that more than 168,000 children in New Jersey — approximately 9 percent of the state’s total child population — have parents who are undocumented immigrants. With U.S. immigration and visa policies tightening, and deportations on the rise, immigrant families increasingly must face heartbreaking decisions about how to prepare for a worst case scenario.

If parents are deported, should they take their children with them — even if the children are U.S. citizens? How can they provide for and protect their children who remain behind? And how can parents be sure they are making the best decisions possible in the face of extreme uncertainty? Read more

New Jersey Supreme Court Issues Opinion on Special Immigration Juvenile Status Cases

child immigration

The New Jersey Supreme Court recently issued a decision in two consolidated cases, H.S.P. v. J.K. and K.G. v. M.S., clarifying the role of family courts in special immigration juvenile status (SIJS) cases. This opinion brings attention to the grave circumstances that can drive families to send their children on perilous journeys across international borders, and discusses the legal process involved in seeking one potential avenue for such children to establish legal residency in the United States. If you are the parent, relative, or friend of one of these children, this information may be of great value. Read more

New Jersey Father Embroiled in International Child Custody Case Alleges Kidnapping Charges Against Former Wife

Making headlines this week is the case of Paul Eksteen, a Morris County father caught up in an international child custody dispute with his ex-wife, Rosita Berdichevsky. In November 2013, Berdichevsky left the country with the couple’s son and relocated to her home country of Paraguay, despite a NJ court order calling for her to surrender the child’s passport. After attempting for over a year to convince Berdichevsky to return with their son to New Jersey and settle their matter in a U.S. court, Eksteen filed criminal charges against Berdichevsky on February 12, 2015, accusing his former wife of kidnapping, criminal restraint and interference with custody. Read more