A recent article in Time Magazine highlighted the crisis facing the civil justice system in metro New Orleans and Louisiana regarding the influx of children and young adults taking refuge in the United State from violence, abuse and abandonment in their home country. The SIJS CLE, presented by immigration law firm Ware|Gasparian, on September 4, 2014 will address this issue and provide training and information on handling these cases. The Pro Bono Project is encouraging its volunteers to attend. Six (6) CLE credit hours.
There are about 1000 juvenile cases in Louisiana, with the majority of that (80%) in and around New Orleans. The Pro Bono & Juveniles project, described in the attachments below, has targeted those children and young adults who have Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS). Not all of the 1000 young people in LA are SIJS eligible.
These are children who have been abused, neglected, or abandoned by their caregivers.
They are not in detention; they have been released to families and relatives. In fact, LA has no detention facilities for children at all.
The free all day CLE on September 4 will train people in how to take on a SIJS case, and everyone will leave with a flashdrive with useful forms, and access to a mentor or immigration law specialist.
The immigration law firm Ware|Gasparian is presenting the CLE in conjunction with the AILA-Mid South Chapter, Catholic Charities of the Archdioceses of New Orleans and Baton Rouge with hospitality provided by The Hispanic Apostolate of the Archdiocese of New Orleans.
HELP is also encouraging its volunteers to attend this free CLE.
"We are expanding our HELP services to assist Immigrant Children. The immigration law firm presenting the CLE is spearheading a regional effort to find pro bono lawyers—and train them—to handle the influx of juvenile detainees we have all been reading so much about. There is an impressive, coordinated, community-wide initiative going on and you could be an important component in solving this overwhelming but not insurmountable problem," said Judge Jay Zainey in an email to HELP volunteers.
For more information, please contact Kathleen Gasparian.
Download the following forms:
Letter from Kathleen Gasparian