Wisconsin Journal of Law, Gender & Society
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Symposium

2026 Symposium Information

Fractured Families: Family Separation from Immigration to Foster Care

This year’s Symposium speakers include Jennifer Binkley (Clinical Associate Professor and Director of the Family Court Clinic), Amanda White Eagle (Director of the Great Lakes Indigenous Law Center), Ryan Poe-Gavlinski (Director of the Economic Justice Institute and Restraining Order Clinical Associate Professor), Cary Bloodworth (Family Legal Advocacy and Supports Clinic Clinical Instructor), and Erin Barbato (Clinical Associate Professor and Director of the Immigrant Justice Center).

  • The Symposium will be held virtually on Friday, February 20, 2026 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m..
  • View the full event schedule with additional details below.
  • Download the event flyer (PNG).

Attendees are eligible for up to 5 CLE credits, with each presentation being 1 CLE credit.

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Full Symposium Schedule • Friday, February 20, 2026

  • 8:30 a.m. – Introduction and Welcome
    • Featuring: Jenny Kornreich and Lauren Xiong
  • 9:00 a.m. – Special Immigrant Juvenile Status Predicate Orders in Wisconsin
    • Featuring: Jennifer Binkley
    • Description: Explaining the usefulness and pitfalls of Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) proceedings in Wisconsin by examining statutory authority and use of SIJS in practice, addressing the practical and legal challenges of pursuing SIJS in Wisconsin, including inconsistent court interpretations, procedural hurdles, and the intersection of family law and immigration law.
  • 10:00 a.m. – The Intersection of Tribal and State Jurisdiction with the Indian Child Welfare Act
    • Featuring: Amanda White Eagle
    • Description: Discussing the interplay of tribal, state, and federal jurisdiction, emphasizing tribal sovereignty, sovereign immunity, and Congress’s plenary power in Federal Indian Law.  This presentation focuses on the Indian Child Welfare Act, summarizing the 2023 decision in Haaland v. Brackeen, upholding ICWA’s constitutionality and detailing ICWA’s eligibility, jurisdiction, safeguards, placement preferences, tribal influence, exceptions, and recordkeeping.
  • 11:00 a.m. – Domestic Violence, Its Impact on Families, and Restraining Orders in Wisconsin
    • Featuring: Ryan Poe-Gavlinkski
    • Description: Discussing the definition and scope of domestic violence in Wisconsin, its impacts on adults and children, and disruptions to family stability.  This presentation summarizes Wisconsin restraining order types, procedures for obtaining TROs and injunctions, and enforcement measures including criminal penalties, firearm restrictions, and full faith and credit for out-of-state orders.
  • 12:00 p.m. – Break
  • 1:00 p.m. – Separated by Design: Race, Poverty, and Family Policing
    • Featuring: Cary Bloodworth
    • Description: Discussing the harms of family separation as the practice has played out throughout history, and highlighting nuances in intersections with race, poverty, and child welfare to show how state intervention in family life has often been framed as “protection” while at times actually functioning as control.
  • 2:00 p.m. – The Cruel Reality of Family Separation and Broken Laws and Policies Separating Families on the Border, in Detention, and in Neighborhoods of the U.S.
    • Featuring: Erin Barbato
    • Description: Analyzing and discussing the ongoing and state of affairs of immigration in the US, as it relates to families and their bonds. This talk will examine the harsh human consequences of family separation caused by U.S. immigration laws, detention practices, and local enforcement policies.

 

Past Symposia

  • 2025: The Policy & Politics of Caregiving
  • 2024: Unraveling Paternity in Law and Society
  • 2023: Surviving Intimate Partner Violence: How the Legal System Routinely Fails Survivors of Domestic Abuse.
  • 2022: Sex as Crime: Addressing the Intersection of the Legal World and the Sex Industry
  • 2021: Confronting Violence Against Indigenous Women and Peoples
  • 2019: Race-ing Justice, En-Gendering Power: Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, and the Role of Intersectional Legal Analysis in the Twenty-First Century
  • 2018: Rights and Protections of Transgender and Non-Binary Individuals in the U.S. Legal System
  • 2017: Women in the Boardroom: The Social and Business Arguments that Challenge Executive Board Homogeneity.

Additional Information

If you have questions about the Wisconsin Journal of Law, Gender & Society’s Symposia, please contact: