Long Island immigrants arrange guardians for children as fears of being separated by arrest, deportation grow
- Bart Jones
- Jul 27
- 5 min read
A growing number of immigrants on Long Island are so worried about getting deported that they are signing official papers giving temporary legal custody of their children to someone else in case they are detained or sent out of the country, advocates said.
As the Trump administration's immigration crackdown escalates, local churches and nonprofits are holding "emergency planning" workshops explaining how immigrants living here illegally can sign the papers for "standby guardianship."
"It's horrifying. It's the most devastating thing I've ever experienced," said Minerva Perez, whose East End Latino advocacy group, OLA of Eastern Long Island, has held workshops explaining the process to immigrants.
"You're in a room with people who are silent as you speak to them about the possibility of them being separated from their children. And there's not a heavier feeling in the world," she said.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
Long Island churches and nonprofits are holding "emergency planning" workshops explaining how immigrants living here illegally — and who fear arrest or deportation — can sign papers for "standby guardianship" of their children.
Some immigrants are refraining from activities like food shopping in part because of their biggest fear of all: getting detained and deported while their children stay here, advocates said.
A temporary custody transfer can be done by signing a form provided by the New York State Office of Child and Family Services, said Theo Liebmann, a professor at Hofstra Law School.
The move toward handing over temporary custody of their children comes amid a generalized fear among immigrants as President Donald Trump conducts what he says will be the largest deportation campaign in U.S. history.
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A number of migrants have stopped going to the doctor, the dentist or school graduations, or calling 911, advocates said. Some stay at home from work for fear of an ICE raid. One Latino supermarket chain, GALA, is offering free online delivery at two of its stores in Freeport and Baldwin because many immigrants are afraid to go food shopping, said Jenny Jorge, the stores' owner.
Temporary guardianship
Some are refraining from these activities in part because of their biggest fear of all: getting detained and deported while their children stay here, advocates said.
"I am a parent and a grandparent, and it breaks my heart to even think that you would have to" sign over temporary custody of your child, said Bill Kiley, a founder of the interfaith group Huntington Action Network Against Hate (HANAH). "It's traumatic for a parent to even have to contemplate this. But if they don't, what are the alternatives?"
His group this month helped sponsor an emergency planning workshop that attracted 65 immigrants to St. Hugh of Lincoln Roman Catholic Church in Huntington Station.
The temporary custody transfer can be done by signing a form provided by the New York State Office of Child and Family Services, said Theo Liebmann, a professor at Hofstra Law School who specializes in immigration and deportation.
The person signing does so in front of a notary and witnesses, he said. They must hand in a copy of the form to family court at no cost and typically give a copy to the designated caregiver, who must be a legal resident.
When a "triggering event" such as an immigration detention occurs, the designated guardian must report that to the court and provide proof, said Julia Miller, an immigration attorney with the Central American Refugee Center in Hempstead and Brentwood. That then activates the guardianship.
Usually the standby guardianship is used in cases when the parent has little standing to remain in the country legally but the child does, such as through a special immigrant juvenile status visa given to children abandoned, abused or neglected by at least one parent, Liebmann said.
Or there could be a case where the parent entered the country without authorization, but the child was born here, making him or her a U.S. citizen.
Good for 12 months
The designated caregiver can decide issues such as education, housing and medical care. It is good for 12 months but can be extended.
If there is no designated guardian, a child could end up in foster care if they are not deported with their parents, Miller said.
Hofstra Law School’s free Youth Advocacy Clinic helps people sign the papers if they want and is seeing growing numbers do so, Liebmann said. Two families have already signed since Trump returned to the White House, and the clinic is in discussions with 20 more, he said.
Before that, the clinic had one family sign since 2005, he said.
In the first week of March alone, the Central American Refugee Center helped seven adults who were the parents of 15 children in total sign the papers, Miller said.
"And things have only gotten worse since then," she said. "This is something that everywhere I go, I'm getting asked about by the community. It has certainly been drastically increasing since March."
Trump’s crackdown started escalating in late May after Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, said the administration wanted to increase the number of immigrants arrested from 600 to at least 3,000 a day.
Trump says the campaign is focused on deporting dangerous criminals, but advocates contend it is sweeping up many immigrants with no criminal records and is often separating families.
"The bottom line is that ICE should not be tearing families apart," said Cheryl Keshner, of the Long Island Immigrant Justice Alliance.
Traumatizing for children
Merely discussing the guardianship paper with children is traumatizing, Miller said, not to mention if the parents are detained and deported.
If an immigrant is detained, it can become an excruciating decision what to do with their child or children, especially if the children are U.S. citizens or have some other legal status here, she said.
"Is it better for my child to be with me? Or is it better for my child to have access to the health care systems in the United States, have access to the education systems in the United States, have access to the safety and the security in the United States?" she said, describing the dilemma.
"Many of these parents are fleeing violence or persecution or other terrible things in their own country. Many of them don't feel that the home country would be safe for them to bring their child back to," Miller said.
When immigrants are detained, they often go up to 48 hours or more before they are allowed to contact an attorney and their family, she said. The call is typically limited to about five minutes.
That barely gives them time to figure out what to do legally, much less come up with a plan for taking care of their kids, she said. That’s why "the unfortunate reality is that I am actively encouraging all of my clients to think through safety plans," she said.
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