Powerless Children: How U.S. Immigration Policies are Impacting U.S. Citizen Children

Although immigration policies directly implicate the undocumented individual, it is important to note that generally undocumented immigrants are not living in the U.S. alone- they have a family. Therefore, when undocumented parents are faced with orders of deportation, not only are they the ones affected by it, but so are their U.S. citizen children. This report sheds light on the various ways current immigration policies negatively impact U.S. citizen children of undocumented parents. Through court cases, narratives and stories, I analyze how the constitutional rights of U.S. born children are violated when their undocumented parents are either (a) forced to relocate to their native country and decide to bring their children with them to maintain family unity or (b) when parents are detained and/or deported and forced to leave behind their children, which results in children being placed in foster care. Instead of protecting what the U.S. claims to value the most, immigration policies are destroying the family sanctity and violating constitutional rights of American citizens.