Description
For those of you who missed our online advanced conference, "Immigration Practice & Policy for Survivors: What’s New & What’s Next," the recordings are now available for purchase. The online conference is composed of six separate sessions, however only four sessions are available for purchase. You can buy all four sessions togheter or individual sessions.
This conference will cover advanced and emerging issues related to noncitizen survivors. We will address ethical concerns in survivor-based cases, the intersection between racial justice and survivor representation, and recent developments in survivor-based remedies. Speakers include ASISTA’s national experts, and other national and local experts. This course will be taught at an advanced level and is intended for those who already have experience working on survivor-based cases.
Session 1: What’s New, What’s Next, & the Implications for Immigrant Survivors
The world of survivor-based representation is always changing, and the last year has been no exception. In this session, panelists will review changes to USCIS, ICE, EOIR, and DOS policies and practices that have affected noncitizen survivors, including prosecutorial discretion, updates to the VAWA policies, and consular processing issues. Panelists will discuss strategies for troubleshooting problematic changes as well as for taking advantage of favorable ones, and participants will have the opportunity to share their experiences.
Speakers:
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Cynthia Lucas, Founding Partner, Lucas & Barba LLP
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Edna Yang, Co-Executive Director, American Gateways
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Amy Cheung, Senior Legal Counsel, ASISTA (moderator)
Session 2: Let’s Stay Ethical: Common Issues in Survivor-Focused Immigration Practice
Who’s my client? Is this a conflict? What are my responsibilities when withdrawing representation? Utilizing hypotheticals, this panel will address common ethical concerns that arise in survivor-focused immigration practice and discuss best practices for handling these issues.
Speakers:
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Craig Dobson, Legal Ethics Advisor to Lawyers
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Elizabeth Keyes, Associate Professor of Law Director, Immigrant Rights Clinic, University of Baltimore
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Lia Ocasio, Staff Attorney, ASISTA (moderator)
Session 3: USCIS Panel: Updates in USCIS Policy and Practice: A conversation with the USCIS Office of Policy & Strategy and the Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman. (This session was not recorded)
Representatives from the Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman and USCIS’s Office of Policy & Strategy, Humanitarian Affairs Division, Victim Protection Branch will answer participants’ pre-submitted policy, processing, and procedural questions. Representatives from the Office of Policy & Strategy will also discuss policy developments in U Nonimmigrant Status and VAWA Self-Petitions. The focus of this session will be on U Nonimmigrant Status and VAWA Self-Petitions.
In the CIS Ombudsman’s portion of the panel, they will provide a brief overview of the CIS Ombudsman’s work and services, followed by a presentation on changes in the processing of survivor-based cases and challenges USCIS has encountered in the processing of these cases, with a particular focus on U Nonimmigrant Status and Violence Against Women Act self-petitions. The CIS Ombudsman will discuss adjudication delays, receipt notices, service center email responsiveness, and the processing of Form I-765s, Applications for Employment Authorization. Following the presentation, the CIS Ombudsman will respond to participants’ pre-submitted questions.
Speakers:
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Fatimah Mateen, Senior Policy Advisor
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Jenny Penado, Policy Analyst
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Kelly Head, Staff Attorney, ASISTA (moderator)
Session 4: ICE Panel: Updates in ICE Policy and Practice (This session was not recorded)
Representatives from ICE will discuss ICE’s latest policies as they affect noncitizen survivors, including Directive 11005.3, Using a Victim-Centered Approach with Noncitizen Crime Victims, and the Doyle memo (Guidance to OPLA Attorneys Regarding the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Laws and the Exercise of Prosecutorial Discretion). Speakers will answer participants’ pre-submitted questions regarding ICE policy and practice.
Speakers:
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Kerry Doyle, Principal Legal Advisor, Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, ICE
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Deborah Fleischaker, Assistant Director for the Office of Regulatory Affairs and Policy, ICE
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Amy Cheung, Senior Legal Counsel, ASISTA (moderator)
Session 5: Trauma-Informed Communication Strategies for Racial Justice
As humanitarian crises continue to escalate, many find themselves seeking help, offering help, or both. These crises continue to drive displacement and migration, and we must communicate across language and cultural barriers in exceedingly traumatic contexts. This training will introduce participants to concepts related to trauma and structural oppression, to set the foundation for a trauma-informed practice. We will introduce how power, privilege, and positionality can impact communication between individuals, and leave participants with tangible internal and interpersonal strategies to improve their cross-cultural communication with clients, colleagues, and communities. This training is designed to be an overview of both frameworks and strategies to support trauma-informed, cross-cultural communication strategies in the legal services and nonprofit services delivery contexts.
By the end of the session, participants will be able to:
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Identify how trauma, racism, and forms of othering can impact communication with clients, colleagues, and communities
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Map how power, privilege, and positionality can impact communication between individuals
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Utilize internal and interpersonal strategies to improve cross-cultural communication with clients, colleagues, and communities
Speaker:
Session 6: Case Rounds: What Would ASISTA Do?
In this interactive session, ASISTA staff will answer challenging procedural and legal questions that commonly arise in survivor-based submissions. This session will be structured around case questions submitted by attendees during registration.
Speakers:
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Amy Cheung, Senior Legal Counsel, ASISTA
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Lia Ocasio, Staff Attorney, ASISTA
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Cristina Velez, Legal & Policy Director, ASISTA
