Deportations forcing thousands of children to foster care in the US

United States, 19th January: Nearly thousands of children of undocumented immigrants are forced to live in foster care, findings of a latest report reveal.

The number of immigrant deportations have witnessed a noticeable hike and this, in turn, is leading to more and more children being left in foster care in the US.

US immigration law- a problem for children—No wonder, innocent kids of undocumented immigrants facing deportations are getting deprived of living with their parents and making the families completely shattered.

The number of undocumented immigrant parents deported by the US in the first half of 2011 is said to be around 46,000, immigration activists allege. And the number of children left in foster care in the US is said to be 5,000 for months together, figures revealed by research undertaken by Applied Research Center show.

That’s because of poor coordination between government and state officials, the activists further add.

Undocumented immigrants arrested for minor crimes-- Undocumented immigrant parents are often arrested by the US ICE(Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officials for minor offences primarily due to the fact that they are living in the US as undocumented immigrants, reveals the report titled ‘Shattered Families: The Perilous Intersection of Immigration Enforcement and the Child Welfare System’.

Many a times, ICE or local law enforcement officials arrest undocumented immigrants either under a 287 g or a Secure Communities agreement. This immigration rule gives authority to local police officials to enforce US immigration laws against undocumented immigrants.

So, it becomes quite difficult for undocumented immigrant parents in the US to do what they want for their children, that is, provide children with a safe place, states a consultant working with children of immigrant parents taken into custody by US ICE officials, Yali Linkcroft.

According to reports, nearly fifty percent of the total 10.2 million undocumented immigrants staying in the US currently have young children.

Meanwhile, an official spokeswoman for the US ICE denied such things. She added that the ICE does provide immigrant parents with an opportunity to care for their children since it does not arrest or deport immigrant parents.

If the situation does not improve, it is likely that an additional 15,000 children of undocumented immigrant parents will be left in foster care in the US in the period of next five years.