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Illegal Immigrants at Risk of Pickup During Visitation with Related Children in Child Protective Custody

By Janet Langjahr

Illegal immigrants planning to visit children in protective custody may want to think twice first.

A grandmother visiting her baby grandson was picked up by immigration agents on an outstanding deportation warrant.

It seems that social workers advised immigration officials of the time and place of the scheduled visitation.

The immigrant family members could not see what their legal status had to do with their visitation.

Some groups warn that schemes like this discourage immigrants from cooperating with child abuse investigations.

But the Department of Children and Families maintains that it is just complying with its legal obligations.

Law enforcement authorities indicated that when they encounter people with outstanding arrest warrants against them, they routinely arrest them.

Whatever procedures apply, arresting illegal immigrants sometimes leaves children in this country without caregivers in their own families.

Read more in this South Florida Sun Sentinel article: Social workers used children as bait in immigration case, man claims.

Full post as published by Florida Divorce - Child Custody - Domestic Abuse Law on April 07, 2009 (boomark / email).