Protecting Citizen-Children Safeguards Our Common Future

For every two adult undocumented immigrants that are deported from the U.S., one citizen-child is affected. With roughly 1.3 million adults deported in the past decade, the number of citizen-children is staggering. Deportation forces parents to make crucial decisions about their U.S.-born children: to take them or leave them behind. Our deportation policies and practices fall hardest on citizen-children in mixed-status families. In this commentary, I review the conditions facing citizen-children, and consider the consequences to the children and to the U.S. To remedy the effects of deportation policies and practices, federal immigration enforcement must follow sound child welfare models. Solid health and educational research helps immigration courts in decision-making by documenting the effects of parental deportation on citizen-children. Promoting legislation such as the Child-Citizen Protection and The Dream Act insures the principled and humane treatment of citizen-children. International treaties and programs that protect citizen-children will also safeguard our nation’s future.