There is not a single person in the United States who has not heard the fire of the immigration debate. Perhaps you are one of those who have been on one side or the other. For many patriotic Americans, this is a fight to protect our country. It is a matter of keeping the resources we have fought for being received by those who deserve to receive them. It is holding onto rights that belong to Americans, not to Mexicans, Guatemalans or Cubans.
For others, it is economically advantageous to allow the immigration laws to relax. It means the start of their business or company can be supported by loyal, hard working employees. It means more hands in the work force; it means a boost in revenue. It means more American dream for those of us on top.
However, for those in the middle, this is a nightmare. Especially those in the middle of the middle. They have sunk below eyesight, disappeared off the radar… and there are thousands. They are the citizen children of illegal immigrant parents. What happens to them? I would love to present that as a country who claims to stand for the rights of their citizens, we have a system and net set up to catch these little ones who fall through the cracks. But, we do not. In fact, we are fighting to strip them completely of their citizenship, which was earned by their birth on US soil, their participation in our school systems, their natural rights.
It is a hellish tale, what some of these children live through. The video below is the story of 2 sisters who had between them both 3 children. It is not one of a kind. Their home was raided in a drug bust gone wrong, and they were both put into detention, and rights to contact their children were stripped away. These citizen children were put into foster care for almost a year as the sisters were transferred from one detention center to another, awaiting results as to whether or not they would be deported. The children disappeared.
Parents are deported, and children are left behind. Perhaps, they are lucky enough to be left with relatives. Or perhaps, they have friends to care for them. But, many end up attempting to return to their parents’ country of origin, only to find themselves strangers in a land that we in America claim they should go back to. These American immigrant children do not speak the language of their parents’ country, they do not know the culture, and the education is not going to give them the opportunities of their own homeland. And, many return. Some live with a sibling who is over 18 and can claim guardianship, some are homeless. But, still the opportunities for them here outnumber that of those in the country of their parents.
What about those children who have no one, who are sent into foster care? They may be put up for adoption when they have parents of their own, who are more than willing and capable of caring for them, but who have been deported and have no way of returning to take their children. There is no system for reunification and the odds are very slim in these cases. Even more tragic are the cases of children being removed from the home of their illegal immigrant parents because these parents are not eligible for federal welfare assistance, and therefore deemed incapable of giving their children the care they need. Their income may combined remain below the poverty line and therefore they lose the right to raise their children, and often are deported shortly thereafter.
But, the implications for these families are the most grievous issue at hand, besides the obvious lack of a country so proud of its care for children, to care for its own children who are born of parents without the same citizen rights they have. These families are shattered. At times, only one parent is an illegal citizen. Perhaps the father is deported back to Mexico. A mother and her 3 children are left in the United States with one income, and a missing father and husband. The family may return to Mexico, but they may not because for their children the choice is a life of opportunity and ability to live out of poverty and hunger, or a life with a father in a country where they wonder where their next meal may come from. This is a choice a family should not be forced to make.
Shortly after the immigration laws became much stricter, there was a bill proposed that would give judges of immigration cases power of discretion to decide what was in the best interest of the children: deportation or the permanent ability to be with ones’ family. It was never passed. And although ICE has power of discretion in deportation cases, it also is rarely used, and all to often ignored in favor of abuse. There are too many stories of parents who were pulled over for a traffic violation and immediately deported (despite ICE’s power to allow them to remain under patrol) and not allowed once to contact their children or families. These could be single parents, wives, mothers, husbands, or fathers.
We fight so hard for our children. And these are our children. Why do they continue to fall through the cracks? I recently spoke to a man who works for border patrol in Arizona along the Mexican border. I mentioned this issue to him and asked his experience. His face became deeply saddened- he is a father, “There are so many, so many. I’ve seen parents run off when we’ve caught them and just leave their child with us.” Of course, this is parental neglect, but what about when it is not? What about when it is our neglect to care for those who our government has sworn to protect as its own? It is ironic to me that in a country where children are so valued assigned so much opportunity and compassion, that our hearts are hard to those whose parents’ citizenship does not belong here. It is ironic to me that compassion is given boundaries of citizenship, of patriotism, of prejudice. For the cause of “protecting our country,” we have let these little citizens disappear. For the rights of this country so many worship, we have sacrificed the lives of those we are so allegiant to protect.
In the name of politics, we have lost our humanity.
