Adamari Rodriguez, JD Anticipated May 2024, Law and Public Policy Scholar
“Man, like a tree in the cleft of a rock, gradually shapes his roots to his surroundings, and when the roots have grown to a certain size, can’t be displaced without cutting at his life.”
– U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes from a letter dated April 1, 1907
Like a tree, the United States has a large undocumented immigrant population that has integrated and rooted themselves into the American community. Because these immigrants are undocumented, meaning they lack legal status due to not being inspected at entry, they have a minimal path to obtaining legal citizenship.
Despite not having the same rights and privileges as U.S. citizens, undocumented immigrants are an integral part of the social fabric of the United States. Pew Research has calculated that undocumented immigrants make up about 4.8% of the American workforce. They are over-represented in farming (26%) and construction (15%). An estimated 7% of children in kindergarten through 12th grade have at least one parent who lacks legal status, and as of 2018, approximately 5 million US-born children lived with at least one undocumented parent. The median length of time that unauthorized immigrants have been in the United States is 15.1 years.
In recent years, the immigration debate has focused on border issues and enforcement rather than what to do with the millions of people already living here. It is critical that Congress establish a pathway to citizenship for the millions of undocumented immigrants currently living in the U.S. A recent article from the Center of American Progress states that “[c]reating a pathway to citizenship and protections for undocumented immigrants would allow them to live free from the fears of deportation and family separation, while also bolstering their important contributions to this country.”
American Children
The well-being of American children should be more important than whether their parents have the proper documentation. As the Center for American Progress explains, undocumented immigrants are parents, grandparents, and siblings to the 10.2 million U.S. citizens who live with at least one undocumented family member. In addition, a recent study from Pew Research stated, “Latinos will account for 60% of the nation’s population growth from 2005-2050.”
For this reason, it is not only undocumented immigrants who would benefit from the creation of a pathway to citizenship. Our immigration law also directly impacts their children, grandchildren, and future generations. A pathway to legalization will give solace to the vast numbers of American youth who have undocumented loved ones.
Deportation Effects Will Always Be Felt on American Soil
When a family member is removed through deportation proceedings, the family faces choices that no one should ever have to make. They can separate, and suffer emotionally and mentally; or stay together, relocate, and potentially suffer terrible economic, social, and political consequences in a country that they no longer recognize.
Many families choose to separate so their U.S. children can continue to receive the education and resources they are entitled to as American citizens. However, some families choose to stay together. An Ohio State study shows that children who are suddenly transported from the United States to another country are almost certain to experience educational problems. The New York Times has reported that “Mexico has never seen so many American Jeffreys, Jennifers, and Aidens in its classrooms.” Research shows that most of these children plan to return to the United States, arguing that “what is Mexico’s challenge today will be an American problem tomorrow, with a new class of emerging immigrants: young adults with limited skills, troubled childhoods, and full rights of American citizenship.”
For the children who are left on American soil without their loved ones, the mental and emotional anguish is, in one word: inhumane. An article from the American Psychological Association concludes that “parents’ legal vulnerability, detention, and deportation are strongly associated with depression, anxiety, fears of separation, social isolation, self-stigma, aggression, withdrawal and negative academic consequences among children.”
After former President Trump launched his presidential campaign with anti-immigrant pronouncements in 2016, doctors and service providers reported having seen more children exhibiting “toxic-stress” due to fear that a family member will be deported. As a recent Fact Sheet from the American Immigration Council discovered, “children of undocumented immigrants are also at greater risk of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as physical conditions such as cancer, stroke, diabetes, and heart disease.”
A Hopeful Problem
If undocumented immigrants had the opportunity to adjust their status and become legal, they would. In 1986, Ronald Reagan signed into law an amnesty program that created a pathway to legalization by granting amnesty to nearly 3 million undocumented immigrants. These 3 million undocumented immigrants obtained proper legalization and were able to stop living in fear of deportation and separation of their families. It is likely that newly created immigration reform would yield similar, or even better, results. An article by Vox stated that “Congress legalized millions of undocumented immigrants in 1986 — and it could again.”
A policy suggestion that did not get far was the executive order of Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (“DAPA”). In an interview, NYU Law Professor Adam Cox and Yale Law Professor Cristina Rodriguez explained that DAPA was announced in 2014 during the Obama administration as “immigration relief for millions of parents whose children were U.S. citizens or permanent residents.” However, DAPA was never implemented because the program was blocked by the courts.
The United States is still in dire need of immigration reform. Hopefully this pressure and need for change will motivate American children and families of undocumented immigrants to step into positions that can push for change in our immigration laws. Perhaps we will see a greater amount of “Jeffreys, Jennifers, and Aidens” running for Congress to fight for their parents who have no voice in the country they call home.