“Vermont Legal Aid seeks volunteer lawyers licensed to practice in Vermont to support family preparedness and preserve the parental rights of Vermonters without a lawful immigration status. Over 100 families living in Vermont have undocumented parents with U.S. citizen children. These mix-status families need your legal support to create a legal pathway for the parents to uphold their ability to make choices on behalf of their children. We seek lawyers to help establish minor guardianships for children of undocumented individuals.
Please help these families. Minor guardianships, and family preparedness plans more broadly, help children avoid DCF custody if their parents are placed in immigrations proceedings and face deportation. DCF does not have a system to reunite children with their parents outside of the United States. Minor guardianships can enable parents to place their children in the care of a trusted adult that can carry out their wishes for their children.
Training: We are offering free training will take place on Friday December 20th from 2 PM – 4 PM at the Fletcher Free Library. Agenda will cover introductions; overview of family preparedness/minor guardianships; overview of common VT immigration issues for mixed status families; overview of VT landscape and scope of need; family preparedness legal planning overview; form review; clinic logistics; best practices for working with interpreters; clarifying and enforcing limited scope of rep and what to do in the event of immigration enforcement. RSVP is mandatory to Barb Prine, brprine@vtlegalaid.org.
What to expect: Attorneys and Advocates from Vermont Legal Aid and Vermont Asylum Assistance Project will provide training on this process and facilitate clinics. You do not need a background in immigration law. Volunteer lawyers will work with parents and potential guardians in a clinic-style setting to prepare power of attorney, minor guardianships, and retainer agreements. Starting in January we will likely hold two clinics a month, in the evening. About half will be in Chittenden County and half will be in the rural counties.
Volunteer task: You must be willing to attend at least one clinic, and agree to meet potential clients there. We expect to connect volunteer lawyers with 1-3 client families per clinic. Should your client be detained by ICE in the future, you must be willing to represent the parents’ interests in Probate Court if a family separation occurs.
History of the Project: Advocates from Vermont Legal Aid developed this project in collaboration with Migrant Justice, UVM Migrant Education, Bridges to Health, and the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project. Our Immigrant Minor Guardianship project originally launched in 2017 as a result of the immigration and family separation policies under then-President Trump. We assisted over 25 families complete guardianship paperwork at that time. We are renewing this initiative in response to President-elect Trump’s stated plans related to deportation and border security. Please let us know if you are willing to help with this important project by filling out your information on this link Volunteer Guardianship Form .
Please reply to Barb Prine, Vermont Legal Aid Staff Attorney at bprine@vtlegalaid.org if you have any questions. Thank you so much for any help you can give for these vulnerable families.”
Access VAAP curated resources on family preparedness for mixed status families here: https://www.vaapvt.org/resources-communities.