In 2015, we saw important legislative action in California focused on improving access to justice for immigrants in our state. Two such laws impact immigrant youth: AB 899, which makes clear that juvenile records and information can never be shared with immigration officials without an order from the juvenile court, and AB 900, which extends the jurisdiction of probate courts to be able to appoint guardians of the person for youth ages 18 - 20 when the youth is also requesting findings for an important form of humanitarian immigration relief, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. This recorded webinar will provide information about the new laws which took effect on January 1, 2016, and anticipated implementation issues.
Presenters:
Angie Junck, ILRC Supervising Attorney
Angie is a supervising attorney at the ILRC. She joined the ILRC in 2005 as a New Voices fellow. She specializes in the immigration consequences of crime and delinquency, immigration enforcement, and immigrant youth issues. She is a co-author of several ILRC publications including, Defending Immigrants in the Ninth Circuit: The Impact of Crimes under California and Other State Laws, Remedies and Strategies for Permanent Resident Clients, and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and Other Immigration Options for Children & Youth. She helps coordinate two national collaboratives that address the intersection of the immigration and criminal justice systems—the Defending Immigrants Project, a collaborative devoted to protecting the rights of immigrants accused of crimes by providing advocacy and support within the criminal justice system and the Immigrant Justice Network, a collaborative to eliminate unjust immigration penalties for immigrants and end the criminalization of immigrant communities. She sits on the American Bar Association's Immigration Commission and is the co-chair of the Immigration Committee of the ABA's Criminal Justice Section. Prior to joining the ILRC, she worked on post-conviction relief for immigrants at the Law Offices of Norton Tooby and advocated on behalf of incarcerated survivors of domestic violence as the co-coordinator of Free Battered Women and a member of the Habeas Project. She is a proficient Spanish speaker.
Rachel Prandini, ILRC Unaccompanied Minor Law Fellow
Rachel joined the ILRC in 2014 to focus on the growing need for legal representation for the unaccompanied minor population. Prior to the ILRC, she represented detained and released unaccompanied minors in removal defense and led a project focusing on Special Immigrant Juvenile Status at Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project in Los Angeles. While at Esperanza, Rachel also performed "Know Your Rights" work in southern California immigration detention centers for minors. Prior to joining Esperanza, Rachel worked as an associate at Paul Hastings, LLP and volunteered as a Child Advocate for unaccompanied minors. Rachel is a graduate of UC Davis School of Law, where she was a member of the Immigration Law Clinic and was fortunate to work on complex deportation defense cases and detention issues. Rachel is conversant in Spanish.