The issue of immigration has moved into the spotlight in Nebraska and all indications suggest that it will be a significant issue for the next several years. Groups and governmental entities have narrowed their focus and analysis to specific issues of immigration, such as granting or prohibiting qualified undocumented immigrants in-state tuition at state colleges or imposing taxes on remittances. But perhaps at the forefront of the immigration spotlight in Nebraska has been the raid by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) in 2007 at a meat-packing plant in Grand Island. As has Schuyler, Lexington and Norfolk, Grand Island has seen a rise in its population of immigrants due to increases in need for unskilled labor. After the Grand Island raid, there were numerous commentaries from national groups about the rights of the detained workers, the conduct of ICE, and the correct deportation process. There was also discussion about the consequences the absence of a salary-providing head of household would cause.

Somewhat less discussed in those reports was the impact undocumented immigration has on courts in dealing with juvenile issues, even in the absence of a mass raid. This Spotlight Issue provides a cursory overview of current issues in Nebraska juvenile courts arising from illegal immigration.

In the United States, over 5 million children live with undocumented parents.⁴ In Nebraska, estimates suggest between 35,000 to 50,000 people have undocumented immigrant status.² Between 1990 and 2000, the Hispanic population of Nebraska increased 155%.² The population of young children of immigrants in Nebraska had the second highest increase nationwide between 1990 and 2000 at 269%.⁴

Immigrants, whether legal or illegal, tend to have lower incomes than citizens. In 2003, 54% of children of immigrants in the United States lived in low-income households.⁴ In Nebraska, 18.2% of all immigrants households and 29% of Spanish-speaking households lived at or below the poverty line.⁵ In 2005, 52.6% of immigrant workers earned less than $25,000 per year.⁵ Low-income households are statistically connected to greater food insecurity, worsening health and crowded housing, and families with diminished standards of living are more likely to come to the attention of state agencies and the courts.

However, due to the reluctance of undocumented immigrant parents to contact governmental entities to access services, even if available, based on the fear of being deported, children of immigrants are less likely to get governmental assistance, such as food stamps or housing.⁴ For example, in 2001, 13.2% of low-income non-citizens used Medicaid compared to 33% of low-income citizens.⁵

In most ways, child welfare cases involving children of undocumented immigrants are treated in the same manner as those involving citizens. Reports are made, safety assessments are conducted, a safety plan is enacted or possibly the children are removed from the parental home. The children are entitled to medical care, foster care and other services in the child welfare system.¹ The undocumented parents are entitled to the same notice of proceedings and the same rights of counsel. The court may not be even aware of the immigration status of the parents.

However, when a parent is undocumented, several issues may arise during the pendency of the proceeding. Lack of citizenship or legal immigrant status may not only affect how the parent acts in the proceeding and reacts to governmental agencies tasked with providing reasonable efforts to reunify or establish permanency, but may create unique situations for attorneys and the courts.

This article outlines some problems that have been encountered in Nebraska courts involving undocumented immigrant parties and best practices in working with undocumented children and families.

Problems Encountered in the Nebraska Juvenile Courts

Issues in abuse and neglect cases are complex enough without immigration issues. When a parent is determined to be undocumented, or parties suspect illegal immigrant status, the nature in which the parent will deal with DHHS or the court stakeholder may be affected. If a parent is undocumented, she may avoid contact with state agents, or those she assumes to be state agents, due to fear of deportation. Undocumented parents may be ineligible for services that could have otherwise been available to eliminate conditions that led to out-of-home placement of the children.

Relative placement may also become more difficult if relatives are likewise undocumented. A relative’s undocumented status may make it less likely that he or she will come forward as a possible placement. Even if relatives are open and willing for placement of the children in their home, the caseworker or other parties may have concerns about placement of a child in state custody in the home of an undocumented person. For example, the state may feel that the placement would be unstable or that the relative could not access needed services for the child. Language barriers could also be an issue that would delay placement of the children with a non-English speaking relative.

Other immigration issues that have arisen in Nebraska juvenile courts are:

• Placement of a child with a non-custodial parent or relative residing in another country.Placement includes temporary placement as well as permanent. Quality, timely home studies are often difficult to find in many countries. Distance between the juvenile court and the long-distance parent or relative can also be a deterring factor if the court wants to maintain close observation over the situation. Transferring the case to a juvenile court in the country where the child is placed is often not an option due to the absence of equivalent juvenile courts.
• Children being sent to the United States by the parent.In one case, a guardian ad litem in Omaha was appointed for a child sent to the United States from Guatemala “for a better life.” The mother living in Guatemala then died. The guardian ad litem concluded that it would not be in the child’s best interest to return to Guatemala, so she petitioned the juvenile court to appoint an immigration attorney to file for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. See citation 3 for discussion of a similar scenario.
• Translation of court reports and case plans to parents who do not speak English.In most cases, case plans are explained to a parent by an interpreter; however, the case plan is often not translated into the parent’s language. Therefore, the parent has no materials in which to refer to after the hearing or meeting.
• Illegal immigrant parents who are perpetrators of sexual abuse of the child. In this case, the parent often faces concurrent criminal charges and likely deportation. Therefore, the parent has little chance to attempt reunification or work on a case plan. This scenario can also occur when the parent is charged with a non-sexual crime but is brought to the attention of immigration authorities.
• Parents living in the home with a number of illegal immigrants. Roommates who are illegal immigrants will often refuse consent to background checks. This may affect the ability of the child to attend visitation in the parental home or be placed at home on a trial home visit, or the finding of the court that the parent has substantially complied with the case plan if the case plan includes finding appropriate housing.
• Accessing the full history of the parents. . If a parent is a citizen of another country, it can be difficult for the caseworker or county attorney to access the parent’s criminal history or other information about the parent’s past.

Best Practices in Other States

The New Mexico Court Improvement Project issued a Best Practices Bulletin that included practices for working with undocumented children and families.¹ Below are a list of best practices applicable to individuals working with undocumented families in the abuse/neglect court system:

• Educating everyone in the child welfare system about immigration relief programs and other immigration issues likely to arise, including how immigration status may affect availability of services.
• Including timely legalization of immigration status in the permanency plan or the independent living plan for children in care.
• Ensuring families are accessing community resources available to immigrant families.
• Providing early assessments of the children and families to determine eligibility of various immigration relief, such as visas or Special Immigrant Juvenile Status
• Making interpreters available for all child welfare staffings, meetings and court proceedings, and not using children as interpreters for their parents.
• Taking into account immigration stressors that may be affecting areas of the case.
• Notifying the home country foreign consulate within 3 working days of the removal order, even if it is unclear whether the child is a foreign national.

In an analysis of cases with immigrant parents faced with deportation proceedings, Ilze Earner recommends additionally that stakeholders ⁶:

• Make efforts to locate relatives to preserve cultural and familial connections, and
• Become familiar in working with international social services agencies to expedite transnational home studies

Commission on Children in the Courts: Subcommittee on Immigration

Nebraska currently has no court-based best practices in dealing with cases involving immigrant parents and children. However, the Commission on Children in the Courts, developed by Chief Justice John Hendry in 2005 to study appropriate steps the judicial system could take to improve its responsiveness to children who are impacted by its decisions and actions, has created a new Subcommittee to examine this issue in Nebraska’s courts. More information about the Commission’s activities is available here.

More Information

For more information about international and immigration issues, please consider the following resources:

1. Working with Undocumented & Mixed Status Immigrant Children & Families, Child Protection Best Practices Bulletin, New Mexico Court Improvement Project,
2. By the People, By the People and The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation,
3. Bhabha, Jacquelin, et. al., Family Reunion and Best Interest: Why the Two are Not Synonymous, The Judges’ Page, February 2008 Newsletter,
4. Children of Immigrants: Facts and Figures, The Urban Institute, May 2006,
5. Gould, Rebecca, Poverty, Language Access and Enforcing Title VI,
6. Earner, Ilze, Children with Immigrant Parents in Deportation Proceedings, CW360o, Spring 2008, p. 14
7. Davidson, Howard, International Legal Principles for Judges and Child Welfare Agencies to Apply with Unaccompanied and Undocumented Immigrant Children,
   The Judges’ Page, February 2008,
8. By the People: Dialogues in Democracy: Immigration and Nebraska, University of Nebraska Public Policy Center, November 2007,

This entry was posted on Monday, May 5th, 2008 at 11:15 am and is filed under Spotlight Issue.