Working with staff from the Florence Immigration and Refugee Rights Project, John was part of a Transnational Family Task Force to help families, attorneys, and judges navigate the complex task of a juvenile immigration case in the United States. A juvenile immigration case is an area of law that needs different collaborators to see the case from start to finish. It requires attorneys with expertise in immigration and family law, as well as coordination with the Department of Child Safety and other stakeholders in the relevant communities.

“I had the privilege of joining the taskforce to help create a cohesive document containing the work that the rest of the team and I had put together. I had the opportunity to work with members of the Mexican Consulate as well as various immigration and juvenile agencies in and around Arizona.

“The premise of the toolkit is to assist people navigating a juvenile immigration case. The toolkit covers things such as case inception, where to contact family members, and where to find other resources necessary for a case. A primary focus of my work was on helping children who may qualify for juvenile immigration status. It is a process that can take several years to help a child gain permanent status in the United States, which is often tied to helping the Department of Child Safety achieve permanency status for children in their care.”

The David A. Paige Foundation is committed to supporting law students passionate about child and family law.