This resource hub provides immigrant families with legal preparedness guidance, child guardianship tools, mental health support, child welfare information, and state-specific laws, regularly updated to reflect changing policies and protections.
Before detention, family preparedness & guardianship
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These steps should be taken before any enforcement action occurs. Parents who designate a caregiver and create a preparedness plan can keep their children out of the foster care system if they are detained.Checklist of actions to take now:
- Designate a trusted caregiver with legal status or U.S. citizenship who can care for your children
- Complete a standby guardianship designation or Caregiver's Authorization Affidavit (forms are state-specific)
- In California, complete Form GC-211 to nominate a guardian or joint guardian; use the equivalent form in your state
- Give copies of the designation to your child's school and primary care provider
- Gather and organize important documents: IDs, birth certificates, A-numbers, immigration letters, school and medical records
- Write down your child's emergency contacts, schedule, medical needs, and school information
- Consult a qualified immigration or family law attorney to confirm forms apply to your state and situation
- Keep copies of all documents in both a physical binder and a shared digital folder
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The Immigrant Legal Resource Center's comprehensive preparedness guide, updated March 2026 to reflect California's joint guardianship law (effective Jan 1, 2026). Covers Form GC-211, the Caregiver's Authorization Affidavit, joint guardianship, and document planning. Fillable toolkit in English and Spanish, with orientation videos in both languages.
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Catholic Legal Immigration Network's state-by-state directory of guardianship laws, forms, estate planning resources, and consular contacts, covering all 50 states and D.C. Includes consular contacts for El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Liberia, Mexico, Nepal, and South Sudan.
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Plain-language, step-by-step guide to family preparedness planning, including guardianship, power of attorney, financial planning, and document organization. Available in English and Spanish.
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An interactive toolkit helping detained and deported parents protect their parental rights and make informed decisions about their children's care — including participating in child welfare proceedings from detention and deciding whether a child stays in the U.S. or leaves with them.
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Locate a detained family member using their full name and country of birth, or their A-Number and country of birth.
Child trauma resources, parents detained or deported
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Research confirms that parental detention and deportation are adverse childhood experiences with lasting mental health impacts. These resources support children, caregivers, and service providers.
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Trauma-informed tip sheet for caregivers, parents, and clinicians supporting children who have experienced traumatic separation. Available in English, Spanish, Dari, Pashto, Russian, and Ukrainian.
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A 2026 guide from University of Minnesota infant and child mental health professionals. Offers practical tools for caregivers, teachers, and neighbors on supporting children through parental deportation or detention. Available in English, Spanish, Somali, Haitian Creole, Pashto, and Dari.
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AAP guidance for parents and caregivers on limiting harmful media exposure, recognizing toxic stress, and accessing pediatric mental health support.
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Resource center for early childhood professionals and caregivers of children under 5. Updated in 2026; includes "safe space" policy guidance and legal aid connections.
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2026 guidance on recognizing stress symptoms and concrete steps: steady routines, cultural affirmation, limiting stressful media, and separation planning.
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Searchable directory of mental health providers serving the Latinx community, including Spanish-language and immigration-trauma-informed therapists.
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Complete NCTSN collection: clinician tip sheets, webinars, and guides for talking with children about deportation.
Child welfare agencies & ICE, what families need to know
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Families should be aware of how the child welfare system and immigration enforcement can interact. Being informed helps families protect their children and parental rights.
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Florida warning: In June 2025, Florida's child welfare agency reported a 17-year-old foster child to ICE, appearing to violate its own 30-year-old (1995) rule barring workers from acting on a child's immigration status. Any AFU member whose child is in — or at risk of entering — Florida's foster care system should seek legal counsel immediately through the Florida Immigrant Coalition.ICE compliance gap: ICE policy requires officers to allow detained parents to arrange childcare, but this is not always followed. If a parent is detained without this opportunity, call ICE's Detention, Removals, and Information Line (DRIL) at 1-888-351-4024 to file a complaint (free from ICE detention).
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April 2026 report on states, including California and Nevada, updating guardianship laws; notes the federal government does not track how many children enter foster care due to immigration enforcement.
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Pairs volunteer child advocates with attorneys and social workers to represent unaccompanied and separated immigrant children in government custody. Their Technical Assistance Program advises detained parents on care plans and supports international reunification when a parent is deported without their child.
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Policy and practice guide on the ICE Parental Interests Directive, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), and strategies for keeping children with family. Available in English and Spanish.
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A vetted, regularly updated directory — a project of the UC Berkeley School of Social Welfare — with referral tools to find immigration attorneys for children in foster care, state-by-state foster care licensure guides for immigrant caregivers, consulate contacts, and pro bono legal service directories.
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A national legal advocacy organization that litigates on behalf of children in the child welfare system, including children of detained or deported parents.
State guardianship & preparedness laws, key states
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CaliforniaJoint guardianship law effective Jan. 1, 2026 — the parent's rights are shared, not suspended, and the presumption favors ending the guardianship once it's no longer needed. Use Form GC-211.
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Nevada2025 law (AB 460) expanded guardianship to cover immigration enforcement scenarios. Parents file notarized paperwork with the Secretary of State's office (the "lockbox"), accessible only by a court, attorney, guardian, or medical provider.
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Connecticut2025 Family Preparedness Packet developed by Yale Law School's Haven Free Clinic Medical Legal Partnership. Available in English, Spanish, French, Haitian Creole, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese, and Vietnamese.
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New YorkNYLAG's LegalHealth Standby Guardianship Project — free info line and forms in English, Spanish, Mandarin, French, and Russian. Call 212-659-6188.
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TexasRAICES — legal services statewide, including removal defense, guardianship guidance, and bond support.
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FloridaFlorida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC) — connects families to legal services statewide, including deportation defense and family planning. (See Florida warning in Section 3.)
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Washington StateThe Family Separation Rapid Response Team (EO 25-04) completed its work at the end of 2025; efforts now continue under the statewide Immigration Sub-Cabinet (EO 25-09). DCYF does not share information with federal immigration enforcement. Free caregiver legal hotline: (206) 267-7075.
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MarylandStandby guardianship law allows a parent to designate a guardian for up to 180 days after a triggering event (detention/deportation), without going to court first (Md. Code, Estates & Trusts §13-901). Use Form CC-GN-041.Local help: Gilchrist Immigrant Resource Center (Montgomery County)
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All other statesUse CLINIC's 50-state directory for your state's current forms, pro bono attorneys, and consular contact information.
Fostering immigrant children information for families & supporters
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For community members who want to support immigrant children at risk of entering the foster care system, and for families navigating the foster care system due to parental detention.
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Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) runs a dedicated Family Separation Response team providing legal representation to children separated from parents at the border or through interior enforcement. Key resource for any AFU member whose child has been separated and lacks legal counsel.
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Global Refuge (formerly Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service) provides licensed foster care placements for refugee and immigrant children, including unaccompanied minors. Explains transitional and long-term foster care options and how to become a foster parent.
Rights of detained parents during and after arrest
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Created with CLASP (published Nov. 2025, updated March 2026). Covers childcare arrangements at arrest, ICE's obligation to wait for a caregiver, participating in family court from detention, visitation, and filing a complaint. Available in English, Spanish, Haitian Creole, Korean, and Portuguese.
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Explains the federal Detained Parents Directive (July 2025) that underlies the parental rights above. Written for child welfare administrators, advocates, and members who work alongside caseworkers.