LEGAL ORIENTATION PROGRAM FOR CUSTODIANS

The Legal Orientation Program for Custodians (LOPC) is funded by the Executive Office of Immigration Review. The Immigration Center for Women and Children (ICWC) provides orientations to minors in removal proceedings and their custodians at ICWC’s offices and at the Immigration Court. The orientations are intended to inform custodians of unaccompanied minors, recently released from detention and placed in removal proceedings, about their responsibility to ensure the minor’s appearance at all immigration proceedings and protect the minor from mistreatment, exploitation, and trafficking,

The Immigration Center for Women and Children and the Justice & Diversity Center have collaborated to create an “Informational Packet for Families” in Spanish, which is provided at the Court. The packet contains referral information for agencies throughout Northern California and information about respondents’ rights and eligibility for relief. The Justice & Diversity Center and the Immigration Center for Women and Children also communicate regularly regarding the scheduling of children’s dockets and issues relating to unrepresented respondents on the dockets. The Immigration Center for Women and Children communicates with unaccompanied minors and their guardians who are San Francisco residents in order to flag potential clients with urgent or emergency issues and refers them to the SFILDC for placement with one of our organizations.