ILAP Public Comment: Proposed Maine Rules of Family Procedure to Govern Family-Related Cases in the District Court in Place of the Rules of Civil Procedure
Matthew Pollack
Executive Clerk Maine Supreme Judicial Court
205 Newbury Street Room 139
Portland, Maine 04101
RE: Proposed Maine Rules of Family Procedure to Govern Family-Related Cases in the District Court in place of the Rules of Civil Procedure
Dear Mr. Pollack,
The Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project (ILAP) respectfully submits the following comments regarding the proposed Maine Rules of Family Procedure to govern family-related cases in the District Court in place of the Rules of Civil Procedure.
I. About ILAP and Interest in Proposed Changes:
ILAP is Maine’s only statewide immigration legal services organization, serving low-income people across the state who would otherwise not have access to immigration legal services. One of ILAP’s specialty practice areas is the Immigrant Children’s Project, which includes representing vulnerable noncitizen children in Maine in the Special Immigrant Juvenile, or “SIJ” classification process, which begins at the state court level. ILAP’s Immigrant Children’s Project attorney co-chairs the SIJ Action Committee of the Maine Commission of Domestic and Sexual Abuse, leads a statewide working group of practitioners litigating these cases in Maine, and partners with legal experts across the country, giving us insight into current issues and best practices locally and nationwide.
II. Collecting Immigration Information as Part of Family Court Rules Presents Significant Risks and ILAP Recommends Language be Removed:
The proposed rules require collection of information about immigration status during initial case management conferences in jeopardy hearings: “At the case management conference, the parties must be ready to address the following issues … Whether any of the parties or children are non-citizens, and if so, whether any additional legal representation or consultation may be necessary.” (Rule 129. Jeopardy Hearing and Order; a. Initial Case Management Conference).
While meeting a child’s immigration legal needs is crucial, and ILAP understands the court’s concern, requiring this information in the record may cause unintended harm and consequences. These include:
Immigration status is not relevant in every case where non-citizen children or parents may be parties. Raising it unnecessarily may unintentionally imply that a parent’s immigration status is related to their fitness as a parent and could risk prejudicing non-citizens in jeopardy proceedings.
Unfortunately, current immigration enforcement policies and practices have created an environment where non-citizens are afraid to attend court dates. Requiring collection of immigration status may increase this chilling effect and significantly interfere with parents’ rights to participate in child welfare proceedings.
Someone’s immigration or citizenship status may not always be clearly known. Incorrect information about status in the court record can significantly prejudice children or parents in the future, including being completely cut off from eligibility for immigration relief and permanent status and protection in the United States. Inadvertent errors like this can even lead to deportation orders (for example if a U.S. citizen is recorded as a non-citizen in the court record and then is accused of registering to vote or voting as a non-citizen).
More appropriate systems already exist and are being developed to ensure a child’s immigration legal needs are being met in Maine. For example, ILAP is currently working with the Maine Attorney General’s Office and Department of Health and Human Services on enhancing their current practices to ensure at-risk children are matched with legal help as part of comprehensive services and protection. ILAP is also happy to provide resources for referrals that could be used by the court, outside of formal information collection in the record.
Accordingly, ILAP recommends that the language recommending immigration status information collection at initial case management conferences in jeopardy cases be removed to reduce unintended consequences that risk prejudicing parties and impacting long-term access to family unity and safety and security.
III. Conclusion:
Thank you for your consideration of our comments. Please contact ILAP’s Policy Director, Lisa Parisio, at lparisio@ilapmaine.org for any questions or additional information.
Sincerely,
Susan Roche
Executive Director
Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project
P.O. Box 17917
Portland, ME 04112
207-780-1593
sroche@ilapmaine.org