Thread: Report criticizes deportation of legal immigrant parents

Report criticizes increased deportation of legal immigrant parents

Tens of thousands were deported in the last decade, most them on 'minor criminal convictions,' according to a study by UC law schools.

By Teresa Watanabe
April 1, 2010

Authorities have deported the legal immigrant parents of more than 88,000 U.S. citizen children in the last decade, according to a report released Wednesday.

The report, published by the UC Berkeley and UC Davis law schools, found that the majority of parents were deported for what it described as "minor criminal convictions" now classified as aggravated felonies, including nonviolent drug offenses, simple assaults and drunk driving. One parent was deported after selling $5 worth of drugs.

The report also found that the deported parents had lived in the country for an average of 10 years and more than half of them had at least one child at home. The deportations caused increased depression, sleeplessness and behavioral problems, plummeting grades and a greater urge to drop out of school, according to the study's interviews with family members.

The deportations began increasing after Congress made several controversial revisions to immigration laws in 1996. The revisions broadened the types of deportable offenses considered "aggravated felonies," required mandatory deportation for those convicted of such crimes, and severely limited a judge's ability to consider the effects of deportation on children.

"It is a travesty that this is happening without any judicial discretion," said Aarti Kohli, director of immigration policy for Berkeley Law School's Warren Institute. "We're not saying you can't deport people. We're saying there should be a fair judicial process that takes into account the impact on their children."

The report detailed one case of a California man who fled Cambodia's murderous Khmer Rouge regime in the mid-1970s. He resettled in the United States in 1981, graduated from high school, served in the U.S. Army and found work as a mechanic. He married and had five children here.

But he was convicted of a misdemeanor domestic violence offense in 2002. The offense was classified as a felony because he served a 365-day sentence. Now he has been ordered deported.

The report recommends that judges regain discretionary authority in cases involving legal permanent residents and their citizen children. It also urges a return to the pre-1996 definitions of "aggravated felonies" and the collection of data on affected children.

teresa.watanabe@latimes.com

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me ... 9846.story

I have no sympathy for these children. I do not even consider them actual citizens.

When any parent breaks the law and ends up in jail or prison,sometimes for life,it hurts children. So if ALL US citizen children must suffer for their parents crimes why should it be different for Immigrants ?

Again we see criminals trying to use their children as sheilds.

Originally Posted by USPatriot

When any parent breaks the law and ends up in jail or prison,sometimes for life,it hurts children. So if ALL US citizen children must suffer for their parents crimes why should it be different for Immigrants ?

Again we see criminals trying to use their children as sheilds.

i agree. immigrants must think they are the only ones who go to jail

I really have a hard time with the fact that these illegals think they can get knocked up crawl across our border push out a foreign national and that foreigner becomes the financial dependent of all hard working US taxpaying citizens. Where is our government that is supposed to look after the RIGHTS of US citizens?

The report also found that the deported parents had lived in the country for an average of 10 years and more than half of them had at least one child at home. The deportations caused increased depression, sleeplessness and behavioral problems, plummeting grades and a greater urge to drop out of school, according to the study's interviews with family members



Not buying that the deportations have a thing to do with what these kids are suffering.

These kids are obviously coming from dysfunctional homes where there are issues involving the parents to begin with, issues which began in those homes long before they were ever arrested for whatever crime it was they committed.

Their problems are not resultant from the deportation.....they're suffering the effects of having been raised in homes where it would appear that substance abuse has been prevelant and they have been exposed to, and victimized by, all issues inherent to that environment.

But I don't foresee that we'll be seeing any reports on THAT now will we?

I know of no laws preventing these parents from taking their children along with them to their home countries.

The actions by the parents are not our fault we should not be the ones paying for it. If the parents have not turned themselves in they are not under the jurisdiction of the United States. The children of an illegal alien who has not turned themselves in for adjudication should not even be considered citizens. There is a difference between submitting to the legal jurisdiction of the United States and being here in violation, contempt and defiance of it within it's territory.

Originally Posted by Richard

The actions by the parents are not our fault we should not be the ones paying for it. If the parents have not turned themselves in they are not under the jurisdiction of the United States. The children of an illegal alien who has not turned themselves in for adjudication should not even be considered citizens. There is a difference between submitting to the legal jurisdiction of the United States and being here in violation, contempt and defiance of it within it's territory.

Right on Richard,Right On !!

If we stopped deporting illegal aliens who had anchor kids, there would be nobody left to deport. Most all of the illegal alien males, working in jobs that belong to American citizens, have a dependent female illegal alien at home with anchor babies. If the illegal alien female was reported and deported when she presented for her free prenatal care, some illegal alien daddies might self deport along with her.