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State Child Safety Plans

Plan Ahead to Protect Your Children

These state-specific Immigrant Child Safety Plans will help you prepare now so your children can stay safe and cared for if you are detained or deported. Each guide includes:

  • The child custody options available in your state. You can choose the option that works best for your family to keep your kids safe if you are detained or deported.
  • Sample legal forms and petitions you may need to complete for your family’s plan to work.
  • Information on how to get birth certificates and immunization records for your child.
  • Contact information for consulates in your state.

We are in the process of expanding these resources.  More state guides — and Spanish-language versions — will be added soon.

Appleseed Immigrant Child Safety Plans

Hawai’i

Kansas

Louisiana

Maine

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Mexico

South Dakota

West Virginia

Wisconsin

State-specific child safety resources from other organizations

For general information on protecting your children in the case of deportation, please also read the following chapters of Appleseed’s Deportation Preparation Manual for Immigrant Families:

1. Child Custody

In the face of deportation, you may face very important decisions about taking care of your kids. Learn what child “custody” and “guardianship” mean, who can seek them, how courts decide, and what steps you can take before, during, and after detention or deportation to keep your family together

2. Assets & Benefits of Minor Children

Many immigrant parents hold money, property, or other assets for a U.S. citizen child so the child can keep them safely under U.S. law. If you have savings or property in your name that you want your child to have if you’re deported, this section explains how to protect it. Learn about your options for naming a trusted person to manage these assets, how to plan ahead, and what laws may affect your child’s benefits.

3. Managing the Psychological Aspects of Deportation and Child Custody

Deportation can deeply shake a family’s sense of safety, leaving children and parents feeling overwhelmed and anxious. This chapter explains how stress affects children, why talking about deportation matters, and how to help your child feel safe and supported, no matter what happens.