The federal agency that was widely criticized for separating parents from children when 361 immigrant workers were arrested at a New Bedford leather goods factory in March has issued new guidelines meant to prevent similar problems in future raids.
The guidelines issued by the US Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement outline elaborate steps federal agents should follow to quickly identify detainees who have children or those who should be released for other reasons, such as pregnancy or illness. They also guarantee access to legal counsel, emergency medical care, and social workers.
The new guidelines will "address humanitarian concerns in such operations," said Richard Rocha, a spokesman for the agency, which has not released the guidelines to the public. A copy was provided to the Globe by the office of Senator Edward M. Kennedy.
Rocha declined to say whether the agency was responding to the criticisms of the raid on the Michael Bianco factory in New Bedford, when children of some workers were stranded for hours without caretakers or in the care of friends and relatives. After the raid, the agency flew some detainees to a federal detention facility in Texas before the immigrants could make arrangement for their children. The agency was also criticized for refusing to allow social workers to communicate with detainees immediately after the raid.
Kennedy's spokeswoman, Melissa Wagoner, said that "New Bedford was the catalyst, and illustrated the need for national reform." Wagoner's statement, which accompanied a copy of the guidelines sent to the Globe, said the document was the product of discussions among the agency, Kennedy, and US Representative William D. Delahunt.
A study released last month by the Urban Institute, a Washington think tank, showed that many children whose parents are arrested in immigration raids face mental health problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder, separation anxiety, and depression. Researchers conducting the study visited several cities, including New Bedford, where officials had arrested suspected illegal immigrants in recent workplace raids.
The newly issued "Guidelines for Identifying Humanitarian Concerns among Administrative Arrestees When Conducting Worksite Enforcement Operations" recommend that prior to conducting raids targeting more than 150 people, the bureau should develop plans to identify people who may be sole caregivers or who have other humanitarian concerns. The guidelines also instruct the agency to notify nongovernmental organizations about operations that are underway and involve state and federal humanitarian agencies in assessing the needs of the people it arrests.
"We hope these guidelines will ensure that pregnant women, nursing mothers, and sole caregivers will no longer be subject to detention," Kennedy and Delahunt said in a joint statement.
But while the guidelines "address some of the issues of how people were treated," they do not stipulate that federal immigration agents must abide by them, cautioned Harvey Kaplan, one of the lawyers who represented the New Bedford detainees.
"Guidelines mean they're not enforceable per se," he said. "it's not a regulation. It's not a court order."
The guidelines tell federal immigration agents not to transfer detainees to faraway facilities until it is clear that their arrest does not endanger the lives of their dependents.
They say that community groups in areas where the arrests are conducted should be notified once an operation is underway. They also say that detainees be granted access to legal counsel, water, food and restroom facilities, and free telephone communication with family members.
"In compelling cases, ICE may consider the possibility of release on humanitarian grounds, based on such newly obtained information," the guidelines state.
They also encourage the bureau to implement the guidelines in smaller worksite operations "when practical."
"That's the ultimate disclaimer," said Ali Noorani, head of the Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition. Lawyers from the coalition have represented some of the people arrested in the New Bedford raid.
"The reality is that the majority of enforcement actions take place in homes, communities, and worksites with fewer than 150 people," Noorani said. "Is ICE saying that if one of those people is a sole caretaker, it doesn't matter?"
Elena Letona - director of Centro Presente, an immigrant services group in Cambridge - agreed. "What we would like to see is a very humane treatment for everybody concerned and make sure that due process is accorded to everybody concerned," Letona said.
She called the guidelines "a very positive step forward" when the debate about treatment of immigrants who reside in the United States illegally has become an important political issue.
"It's not necessarily ensuring that people won't be detained and eventually deported," Letona said. "But it's a beginning. It's still pretty courageous to get anything done."
Roy Greene of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Anna Badkhen can be reached at abadkhen@globe.com.
(Correction: Because of a reporting error, a story in Saturday's City & Region section about the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement's new guidelines for conducting raids in a more humane manner said some children were stranded without caretakers for hours after the raid in March on a New Bedford factory. ICE says no children were unattended during the operation.)
