Steph Solis

@stephmsolis

In the tiny conference room of a Flemington community center, more than a dozen mothers, some with infants in their arms, sat at a table passing around copies of a legal document Helen Ramirez described as "la carta poder."

Ramirez, an immigration attorney based in Newark, was referring to a “power of attorney" document. The women watched as Ramirez, working with them pro bono, explained how assigning power of attorney lets unauthorized immigrants assign a caregiver for their child without losing custody in the event they are detained and deported without their children.

As President Donald Trump works to deliver on his promise to deport unauthorized immigrants, many across the country are exploring legal protections to make sure their children aren't abandoned or taken in by the state.

"They're scared of their children winding up adopted by a stranger and then having no control over it," Ramirez said.

Of the estimated 11.1 million immigrants living illegally in the United States, nearly 4 million have children in the United States. A study of child population from 2009-13 from the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, states that more than 168,000 children in New Jersey have parents who are unauthorized immigrants — 9 percent of the total child population in the state.

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Michele Alcalde, an immigration attorney based in Red Bank, who has advised undocumented immigrants in Asbury Park, Deal and other Shore towns, tells her clients "you have to be a saint nowadays."

She said one client, who immigrated illegally from Honduras 15 years ago, was arrested in February at his residence in Ocean Township by ICE agents who were looking for another target. They didn't find the suspect, but they did learn that the single father had a moving violation and a summons alleging he was driving without a license.

Alcalde says her client is a single father, but his sister was able to step in and care for the child. Other undocumented immigrants who don't have spouses or siblings to care for their children have been reaching out to extended relatives and close friends, especially those with legal status, Alcalde said.

The fear

Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, is skeptical that Immigration and Customs Enforcement would deport unauthorized immigrants without giving them the option to take their kids with them. He says parents should leave with their kids, and anyone who doesn't is being neglectful.

"I think there's something frankly wrong with any parents that would abandon their children and leave them in the United States when they go back to their home countries," he said.

An ICE official responding to an email from the Asbury Park Press about their detainment and deportation process stated, "ICE makes custody determinations consistent with controlling law and precedential legal decisions on an individualized basis considering the unique facts of each case. Among other factors, ICE may consider whether the individual is a parent or legal guardian of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, or the primary care taker of any minor."

In the event families are separated, several immigration lawyers interviewed by the Press said they advised their clients to follow an "emergency plan" released by the Rutgers University Child Advocacy Clinic. See the emergency plan and power of attorney document below:

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The plan advises parents to assign power of attorney to a relative or close friend, making them a temporary caregiver without relinquishing custody. The plan also notes that even undocumented immigrants have the right to demand to see a warrant when police show up at their door. It goes on to recommend they make copies of their tax returns and other documents and set aside money for their children if they are separated.

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Eleana, 23, attended the legal advice session Ramirez held at the Harvest Family Success Center on Park Avenue in Flemington. She came to the U.S. alone from Honduras in 2013. Today, she has a 2-year-old daughter with her boyfriend, also an undocumented immigrant from Honduras. She was considering assigning power of attorney to her child's paternal grandmother, a legal resident.

"I think it'd be better if she went to live with me ... but it's tough because the country I came from has a lot of economic and public safety challenges. The violence is at its peak," said Eleana, who declined to be identified by her full name for fear of being targeted for deportation.

Eleana attended a year of college in Honduras, one of the poorest nations in Latin America, and as recently as 2014, was the murder capital of the world. She fled because she couldn't find work and she felt unsafe.

When she arrived in Hunterdon County, she worked a series of jobs until finding regular work as a babysitter.

They planned to raise their daughter in Hunterdon County, where she would live in a safe neighborhood and go to a decent school. Now, the plan is just to extend their stay as long as they can. If they both get deported, Eleana said she wants her daughter's grandmother to put the child on a plane to Honduras to be reunited with her parents.

"You're trying to improve your life and provide your kids a better life," she told a reporter in Spanish. "Now you're in limbo with your kids because parents have to go to work. Kids are afraid because they don't know if their parents will return home at the end of the day."

What does 'power of attorney' do?

In states such as California and Massachusetts, unauthorized immigrants with children can leave a close friend or relative in charge of their children without relinquishing custody by filling out a caregiver's authorization affidavit.

New Jersey doesn't recognize the caregiver's authorization affidavit. Until recently, the Garden State didn't appear to offer an equivalent document. But Randi Mandelbaum, a law professor at Rutgers University School of Law in Newark, and a team of lawyers drafted an emergency plan earlier this year. The plan which includes the "power of attorney" document for child custody matters, was disseminated via email to immigration lawyers across New Jersey like Ramirez.

Von Spakovsky believes the lawyers and advocates warning families that they could be separated are exaggerating.

"These advocates want to scare people as much as possible because they believe it helps them politically to oppose our immigration law and the president's policies," he said. "I think these advocates are doing a disservice to these aliens and they're doing it for political purposes."

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John Leschak, an immigration and family lawyer in Freehold, says Trump's rhetoric about immigrants has sparked a level of fear across the country that at times may be unfounded. He finds it unlikely that both parents in a family would be detained and deported or that it would be as common as some think it would be.

But he also believes unauthorized immigrants are right to make family emergency plans. In fact, he says, they should go beyond assigning power of attorney because there's no guarantee it would be enforceable, though other lawyers say the document likely will be honored by schools and state agencies.

Mandelbaum submitted the power of attorney document she drafted to the Department of Child Protection and Permanency. She was told the agency will honor the document.

Leschak recommends parents use a guide prepared by the Appleseed Network, an advocacy group with law centers in the U.S. and Mexico. At 108 pages, it covers everything from breaking a lease on an apartment to designating power of attorney for a child to filing joint taxes with a spouse even after being deported.

"I don't think you should ever just rely on that piece of paper," Leschak said. "Reality is more complicated than that. I would recommend parents have a more comprehensive plan."