U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced a new directive for agents to better protect the parental rights of immigrant detainees.
Directive 11064.3 – Parental Interest of Noncitizens Parents and Legal Guardians of Minor Children or Incapacitated Adults – was announced in a July 14 ICE news release.
"In the course of their duties, our officers and special agents will preserve family unity and the parental rights of noncitizen parents and legal guardians to the greatest extent possible," ICE Acting Director Tae D. Johnson said in the news release. "ICE will ensure that our civil immigration enforcement activities do not unnecessarily disrupt or infringe upon the parental or guardianship rights of noncitizen parents or legal guardians of minor children or incapacitated adults."
The directive also strives to, among other things, ensure noncitizen parents or legal guardians who are detained as part of a civil immigration proceeding can continue to visit with their child or the incapacitated adult, plan their care and participate in any related court or child welfare proceedings, the release reported.
ICE also plans to develop new training "for relevant ICE personnel" on topics such as safeguarding noncitizen parental or guardianship rights they may encounter during the court of carrying out their duties, according to the release.
"While the prior version of this policy applied to parents and legal guardians of minor children, the current policy also applies to the parents and legal guardians of incapacitated adults," the news release said. "The policy goes into effect immediately and full implementation will be complete in the next several months."
