Immigration detention puts children at risk for losing parents

Millions of children in the United States, including some in Louisiana, are born and raised in households that contain undocumented immigrants. In many families, it is one or both parents themselves who came here to start new lives but did not have paperwork in order when they did so. This type of situation can place children at risk if a parent or both parents are taken into custody for immigration detention.

Children facing such circumstances may be placed in the foster care system if their parents get deported, or even before that if no one is available to care for them while their parents’ situations are being processed. One young mother was picked up by immigration officers back in 2005. At the time, she had an infant daughter and a 7-year old son.

The woman was deported and was shocked when an immigration officer escorted her to the gate of an airline and explained that she was not allowed to take her children with her. The mother later recounted that the grief she felt in that moment was almost unbearable. It took five years and the help of a compassionate attorney for the woman to get her children back. Sadly, because her daughter was an infant when they were separated, she did not know her mother when they were reunited.

This immigration detention story is far from being the only one of its kind. In fact, there may be someone in Louisiana currently facing similar problems who is in need of guidance and support. If so, it is good to know that an experienced immigration and naturalization law attorney can provide counsel and legal representation as needed.

Source: npr.org, “When Immigration Detention Means Losing Your Kids“, Dec. 8, 2017