Parents have many things to consider when raising a child. Establishing provisions for guardianship in the event that one can no longer take care of their children is part and parcel of the job but for undocumented immigrant parents living in the United States, the possibility of separation from one’s children is a grim reality that necessitates an urgency which becomes more pressing by the day.
This is a fear that has been heightened by the Trump administration and its approach to immigration enforcement which basically looks to deport any immigrants who do not hold lawful status—no matter if they have not committed a crime (it’s worth noting that being undocumented in itself is not actually a violation of federal law) or whether or not they have American citizen children.
Advocates say fears of deportation have been spreading. “People are having breakdowns,” said Roberto Hernandez, director of El Centro, a Catholic Charities of Trenton program that works with immigrants.
Citizens whose parents are immigrants have been seeking help to get power of attorney, while children in his program’s youth group have asked what will happen if they have to leave the country, Hernandez told the Assembly Regulatory Oversight and Reform and Federal Relations Committee, which heard testimony but did not take action Friday.
And now undocumented parents are preparing themselves for the harsh reality that they may need to leave their children behind to give them opportunities that they could not otherwise get in other countries; or prepare to take them away from the only country that they have ever known.
And for those young people who have experienced the pain of having a parent deported, the experience is just as horrific, lonely and panic inducing as we imagine it to be.
My four sisters and I accompanied Ma to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement court hearing in Cleveland. We argued that she should be allowed to stay in the United States with us because she was not an enforcement priority, someone who was a threat to “national security, public safety and border security.” We had lived in the United States for 15 years, having arrived in 2000 when I was 4. The judge wasn’t moved. [...]
It has been more than a year now since the lawyer’s devastating call. I talk with my parents — we use WhatsApp when there is a good internet connection in Ghana — but it’s terrible not to have them here. I don’t know when I will see them again. My sisters and I have no family home.
This is a new reality. While deportations under President Obama were higher than they had been under previous administrations, Obama at least tried to prioritize those immigrants who were convicted of crimes instead of parents and those who are working without proper authorization. But in Trump’s America, these same parents are now needing to make arrangements for their children in the case that they get deported.
South Florida immigrant advocates say many people are resigned to being deported under the new policies.
“People are coming in and asking not for immigration help, but to make arrangements for their children when they get deported,” said Randy McGrorty, executive director of Catholic Charities Legal Services, an arm of the Archdiocese of Miami that runs the Miramar law clinic. “It’s a general climate where people think the country has changed into one that’s not welcoming anymore. That’s disheartening.”
Welcome to the TerrorDome. Where Trump and friends deport parents away from their American-born kids or kids who’ve been here almost their whole lives and think that this is actually helping to make the country great. Ugh—not okay. At what point can we qualify for a do-over? This is too demented and sadistic to remain policy.