New York Assembly Bill A10098

New York 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/30/26
• Refer: 1/30/26

Caption

Grants the family court jurisdiction to determine guardianship of minors and infants when there are extraordinary circumstances, including parental deportation

Summary

This bill amends the New York Family Court Act to give family court jurisdiction to determine guardianship of a minor or infant when “extraordinary circumstances” prevent reunification with one or both parents. The bill expressly states that extraordinary circumstances include parental deportation, removal, forced departure from the United States, prolonged involuntary separation due to immigration enforcement, and other comparable circumstances beyond the child’s control. The bill also directs the Office of Court Administration to revise family court findings forms so judges can indicate that reunification is not viable because of extraordinary circumstances and can identify non-exhaustive examples of those circumstances. It clarifies that the new provision does not limit the court’s existing authority to make findings of abuse, neglect, or abandonment, and it does not require such findings before guardianship can be granted on this basis. The bill would take effect immediately if enacted.

Impact

The bill would expand and clarify Family Court jurisdiction under section 661 of the Family Court Act by creating an explicit basis for guardianship proceedings when immigration-related separation or similarly severe circumstances prevent reunification. It would affect guardianship cases involving minors and infants, especially children whose parents have been deported, removed, or otherwise forced to leave the country, and would require administrative changes to court forms used in custody, guardianship, and best-interests determinations.

Sentiment

There is no recorded committee transcript or vote history available, so the bill’s sentiment can only be inferred from its text and caption. The measure appears generally supportive of children and caregivers facing immigration-related family separation, with a focus on providing a legal pathway to guardianship rather than forcing parties to fit those cases into abuse, neglect, or abandonment categories. The absence of opposition statements or votes means no formal legislative sentiment can be identified from the available record.

Contention

The main point of potential contention is the bill’s explicit inclusion of parental deportation, removal, and immigration-enforcement-related separation as extraordinary circumstances, which may raise concerns among opponents about immigration policy, family court standards, or the scope of judicial discretion. Another possible issue is whether the bill could be seen as broadening guardianship access without requiring a finding of parental unfitness, though the text preserves existing abuse, neglect, and abandonment authority and frames the new jurisdiction as an additional pathway rather than a replacement.