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Falling Through the Cracks
The Impact of Immigration Enforcement on Children Caught Up in the Child Welfare System
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December 12, 2012
"One of the many consequences of an aggressive immigration enforcement system is the separation of children, often U.S. citizens, from their unauthorized immigrant parents. Take the case of
Felipe Montes, a father who has spent the past two years fighting to reunite with his three young children, who were placed in foster care in North Carolina following Montes’ deportation to Mexico in late 2010. Such cases only scratch at the surface of a growing problem. Our immigration policies often fail to address the needs of millions of children whom they directly impact.
According to the Pew Hispanic Center, approximately 5.5 million children in the United States, including 4.5 million U.S.-born citizens, live in mixed-legal status families with at least one parent who is an unauthorized immigrant. These children are at risk of being separated from a parent at any time. Parents facing removal must frequently make the decision whether to take their children with them or leave their children in the U.S. in the care of another parent, relative, or friend. In many cases, a parent may determine that it is in their child’s best interest to remain in the U.S. However, in some cases, a parent’s ability to make such decisions is compromised when their child enters the child welfare system, which can prompt a series of events leading to the termination of parental rights. The lack of consistent protocols across the different public systems that encounter separated families further exacerbates the problem.
This paper outlines the unique challenges that federal and state immigration enforcement measures pose to child well-being and family unity, including the implications for children and families involved in the child welfare system.
How Many Families Are Separated By Immigration Enforcement?
The precise number of children and families separated by immigration enforcement is unknown. Prior to 2010, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not track this information consistently. As of 2011, DHS was required by Congress to document only the number of
parents of U.S.-citizen children
removed each year. Therefore, neither the number of parents detained nor the precise number of U.S.-citizen children impacted by a parent’s removal or detention is known. What we do know is:
- A 2007 Urban Institute study on immigration worksite raids found that, on average, for every two adults apprehended in a worksite raid, at least one child is impacted.
- The DHS Office of the Inspector General estimated that over 108,000 parents of U.S.-citizen children were removed from the U.S. between 1997 and 2007.
- Reflecting a dramatic increase in recent years, statistics released by DHS reveal that 204,810 parents of U.S.-citizen children were removed from the U.S. between July 1, 2010 and September 31, 2012, accounting for nearly 23 percent of all individuals deported during that period. This is likely an underestimate since parents may be reluctant to reveal that they have children.
Why Have Removals Of Parents Of U.S.-Citizen Children Increased?
- Partnerships with local police agencies: The rise in parental removals is correlated with a shift in immigration enforcement policy in late 2007 from worksite operations to cooperation with the criminal justice system. According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) statistics, more than half of the individuals removed from the U.S. in 2011 were identified as “criminal aliens,” including those who committed non-violent offenses. The most prominent jail-based immigration enforcement program, called Secure Communities, is a DHS program that identifies immigrants who are booked into U.S. jails and who are suspected of violating immigration law. It has been implemented in a majority of county jails and is expected to operate nationwide in 2013.
Falling Through the Cracks
