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4 million undocumented immigrants have children that are U.S. citizens

On Behalf of | Dec 20, 2012 | U.S. Immigration Law |

Recently, we detailed the plight of a father that was deported to Mexico and consequently fighting to maintain his parental rights and move his children to Mexico. While it does appear that this father will be successful in his pursuits — after much work and assistance — this situation is not unique, unfortunately. According to one report, around 25 percent of deported immigrants have children that are U.S. citizens.

It is estimated that as of 2008 there were 4 million undocumented immigrants that had children that were U.S. citizens. Further, some families have a mix of children that are citizens and undocumented.

One 25-year-old woman speaks of how her older brothers where born in the U.S. but her mother temporarily lost her job and returned to Mexico, where the now 25-year-old woman was born. Then her mother returned with the child to the U.S. and birthed three more boys. This means that in a family of six, this lone woman is the undocumented immigrant child in the family.

She says this has created huge barriers for her, like failing to qualify for financial aid to assist with college expenses because she was not a U.S. citizen. Hopefully, an immigration reform bill in 2013 could yield positive changes for families of similar circumstances.

Until then, an experienced immigration attorney can assist individuals and their families on the path to citizenship. Further, if an individual is facing deportation proceedings, an attorney can help an individual fight those proceedings so that the family unit may remain intact.

Source: ABC News, “A Quarter of Deportations Are of Parents of U.S. Citizens,” Ted Hesson, Dec. 17, 2012

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