More and more immigrant parents are making the choice to designate someone to care for their children if they’re detained and deported.
They’ve realized how real this situation has become and they feel torn: They either get deported with their children — in many cases, back to the country they fear returning to — or be separated and leave their children here with someone they trust.
“They need to be prepared,” warned Brazilian-American Center Executive Director Liliane Costa.
As hundreds of thousands of immigrants lose their legal status under new Trump administration policies eliminating humanitarian parole, it’s left many workers in limbo — including at a Massachusetts facility where people with special needs receive care.
The center in Framingham has noticed an uptick in immigrant families asking to fill out a caregiver authorization affidavit, from only one in April to 63 so far in June.
“They don’t know what will happen to their kids if they get caught,” she said.
The very public arrests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement over the last several months has made immigrant parents think about what to do with their children in the event they end up in custody or being removed from the country.
“This does not terminate their legal rights as parents,” explained Lawyers for Civil Rights Senior Attorney Mirian Albert. “The three options that we usually discuss with families are a caregiver authorization form, a temporary agent form, and the last: guardianship.”
A restaurant in the heart of Roxbury is on the verge of closing after its manager was picked up by immigration agents. His sister, the owner, says she’s desperately trying to find a way to get her brother released from ICE custody while keeping Suya Joint running..
The caregiver affidavit gives temporary permission to someone they trust to make health and education choices for their children.
“It’s the first time that we really do this document,” said the center’s notary public, Augusto Tome.
The Brazilian native has been helping families with the process.
“It’s really hard, because we put ourselves in that position, because it happened to me,” he said.
Tome said his wife, the mother of his two children, was detained by ICE for three months last year. He also signed up to be the designated caretaker for his cousin’s children.
“It’s six years I’m working here, and that’s what I love to do: helping,” he said. “I went through all the situations, so I can imagine how people feel when it happens to them, because I felt everything myself.”
The option helps avoid the more lengthy and costly guardianship process and helps keep the children from being placed in foster care, but it only lasts up to two years.
And if the parents want to be reunited with their children, the caregiver will need a notarized travel authorization form to be able to take the kids to their parents.
The center says they haven’t seen a case where the designation has been needed yet. Costa said that at this rate, it may just be a matter of time.
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