Navigation of the Culture of the Immigrant Experience in the Family Courts

This program educates attorneys practicing in Massachusetts Family Courts about immigrants, the culture they import, their unfamiliarity with Rule of Law, and the protections available and unknown to most. Issues of domestic violence, child custody, parenting plans and support are discussed in the context of immigrant cultures.

In this course, participants hear from presenters working with families from different cultures, their commonality, and challenges. Each presenter shares how the clash of culture and court intervention shapes the work they do with families and issues confronted navigating through the family courts. The expert panelists include foreign-born practitioners who have personally navigated the immigration experience, as well as one of New England’s most respected immigration experts.

Immigration has been a visceral issue, hotly debated by all sides of the political spectrum, not only by elected officials but by people of all walks, citizens and not. Immigrants bring with them various and profoundly different cultures and customs alien to Americans, including overt government oppression and institutionalized violence based on gender. These differences have spilled into the Family Courts. Domestic relations attorneys, judges, mental health professionals, probation officers and investigators, and court personnel must be prepared to acknowledge and confront these differences to achieve best results.