Thread: Immigrant Debate Could Split Illegal Parents From U.S.-Born

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May 22, 5:34 PM EDT

Immigrant debate could split illegal parents from U.S.-born kids

By GIOVANNA DELL'ORTO
Associated Press Writer

NORCROSS, Ga. (AP) -- Laila Montezuma was 16 when she sneaked across the Rio Grande from Mexico with her mother, only to be abandoned by the smuggler paid to get them into the United States. They had to hire another "coyote" to reach Houston.

But Montezuma's own daughter will be spared those struggles. Even if Montezuma and her husband are both deported for being illegal immigrants, little Alma could eventually return to enjoy the opportunities her parents sought here.

"She's not going to have to fight for anything for the simple fact that she was born here," Montezuma said as her infant daughter played in a waiting room at a pediatrics clinic in suburban Atlanta.

About 2 million families face the risk of being split up because the children are U.S.-born citizens but the parents are illegal immigrants. At least one lawmaker has proposed ending citizenship by birthright, restricting automatic citizenship at birth to children of U.S. citizens and legal residents.

The United States has one of the most liberal citizenship policies in the world, granting citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil based on an 1868 constitutional amendment. About 3.1 million children are U.S. citizens by birth, even though one or both of their parents are here illegally, according to estimates by the Pew Hispanic Center.

Supporters of that measure say it is the only way to fully integrate immigrants.

"A person has a stake in the society where they are, and you can't beat that as an integration measure," said Demetrios Papademetriou, president of the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington think tank.

But critics who want to eliminate the right insist it is a magnet for illegal immigration and an obstacle in efforts to deport millions of illegal immigrants.

"It's not as large a magnet as jobs, but it will be easier to solve the problem of illegal immigration if we avoid the mixed-family situation," said Rep. Nathan Deal, R-Ga., who tried unsuccessfully to revoke the citizenship-by-birth right in the immigration bill passed by the House in December.

Deal and other advocates of stricter controls say immigrants come to the U.S. in part to have "anchor babies" - children who can offer their parents some immunity from deportation and then petition for them to receive green cards after turning 21. But just how many immigrants do so is unclear.

Border Patrol agents rescue one or two immigrants in labor every year.

Daniel McClafferty, part of a Border Patrol medical team, found an 18-year-old woman in shock with her newborn daughter last month about 20 miles north of the border in the desolate foothills of the Arizona desert.

A fellow immigrant had helped deliver the baby, cutting her umbilical cord with a nail clipper. McClafferty helped evacuate the mother on a helicopter and carry the baby to the closest road, four miles away.

Alejandro Ramos with the Mexican consulate in Tucson, Ariz., said the mother had asked for a U.S. birth certificate for her daughter, but her whereabouts were unknown.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers try not to separate families but they do "arrest and remove people every day who have dependents in the U.S.," said agency spokesman Marc Raimondi.

Immigrants who are ordered deported can ask a judge to let them stay if, among other things, they are able to prove their deportation would be an "extremely unusual hardship" to a U.S.-citizen spouse or child.

Immigration judges typically consider whether children can speak the language of their parents' native country, whether they have enough money to survive and whether they have serious health problems, said Elaine Komis of the Executive Office of Immigration Review, which runs federal immigration courts.

Even though Luz Maria Medrano of Las Vegas was ordered deported along with her second husband, the couple won permanent residency after a six-year legal battle when a judge found her 7-year-old, U.S.-born son would not receive proper treatment for his learning disability in Mexico.

She's especially happy for her other 17-year-old son, who was born in Mexico. She carried him across the Arizona desert when he was 12 months old to flee an abusive ex-husband.

"I felt very responsible," said Medrano, a 40-year-old real estate agent. "It was for him that I would have suffered more if they had sent us to Mexico. Now the future for him will be grandiose. Here, whatever you do, you'll be successful at."

Back at the suburban Atlanta clinic serving Spanish-speaking families, Irma Baldonado recalled being two months pregnant when she immigrated illegally to California. She left her first-born daughter in El Salvador with her mother and has not seen the child in seven years. She hopes her two children who were born here will one day get papers for their 10-year-old sister to join them.

"It's what I wish for the most," Baldonado said. "Then it will all have been worth it."

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On the Net:

Familia Latina Unida: http://www.somosunpueblo.com/cflu-families.htm

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement:

She left her first-born daughter in El Salvador with her mother and has not seen the child in seven years. She hopes her two children who were born here will one day get papers for their 10-year-old sister to join them.

"It's what I wish for the most," Baldonado said. "Then it will all have been worth it."

strong family values --

if Congress would actually read the 14th amendment, it does not guarantee citizenship to children born to foreigners and furthermore, it says

Section. 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

Congress has NEVER passed legislation to enforce the so-called 'birth right' citizenship of the 14th amendment and Congress can revoke U.S. citizenship for all persons at any time

Unless they plan on abandoning their children, they won't be split up.

I ask all of you - 'What would you do if you were in that situation?
Would you for a moment think of leaving without your children?

Good grief!!!

So when they scream, they will be split up - ask them,

"Are you planning on abandoning your child in America?"

Why are they screaming about their children being an American citizen - their lack of citizenship didn't mean a lot to them - or the fact they were Mexican citizens didn't mean much to them.

So citizenship really doesn't mean much to them - unless there is money to be made.

About 2 million families face the risk of being split up because the children are U.S.-born citizens but the parents are illegal immigrants. At least one lawmaker has proposed ending citizenship by birthright, restricting automatic citizenship at birth to children of U.S. citizens and legal residents.

This is as it should be I'm not even sold on including legal residents. They are still in their "trial" period, but it could be one for case by case. Not enough info to be sure.

Deport 'em all; let God sort 'em out!

Originally Posted by nntrixie

Unless they plan on abandoning their children, they won't be split up.

I ask all of you - 'What would you do if you were in that situation?
Would you for a moment think of leaving without your children?

Good grief!!!

So when they scream, they will be split up - ask them,

"Are you planning on abandoning your child in America?"

Why are they screaming about their children being an American citizen - their lack of citizenship didn't mean a lot to them - or the fact they were Mexican citizens didn't mean much to them.

So citizenship really doesn't mean much to them - unless there is money to be made.

people abandon their children to get here and leave them dead in the desert and then act like the United States owns their children. Any child under the age of 18 should be deported with their parents .... those over 18 can be deported on their own

Deport the exploited children too. Many children of our military service men go out of this country and live with their parents. What's good enough for them is good enough for the American Anchor Babies. They need to go home with their parents.

judge found her 7-year-old, U.S.-born son would not receive proper treatment for his learning disability in Mexico.

Why can't the child be put in foster care, since the parents can't take care of him? That's what would happen to us.

Dixie

The children can go with their parents and apply as citzens when they are of legal age.

If they have no family members here that are citizens, the anchor babies go too. With regards to minor children that are illegal as well as their parents I say adios

I am so tired, fed up and disgusted by the attention showered on illegal aliens at the expense of Americans. All we hear is what we can do to benefit illegal aliens economically, socially and politically but NOT ONE WORD on what can be done for Americans. Our illustrious Senate and President condones violations of federal laws by providing social security and other benefits to those that have fraudulently obtained them preventing Americans from receiving benefits for which they are entitled. The government, in concert with their illegal alien advocates has cheapened our most scared right to vote by registering and allowing illegal aliens to vote which is a serious violation of federal laws. Illegal aliens and their supporters in Congress and the administration say their clients want to be good citizens, but they aid and abet illegal aliens in violating the very laws and rights which are the hallmarks of responsible citizenship. They have no idea or do they care about the price paid by millions of veterans as myself and the ultimate cost in blood by those lives lost in defending, protecting and preserving the rights of Americans. Senator McCain should appreciate the special significance behind this as a veteran and POW. By his blatant disregard for the laws of our land he has trampled on the constitution and the laws it embodies; dishonoring and disgracing the sacrifices made by countless veterans in the many noble causes for our country. This veteran will never find it in his heart to forgive this government which has sunk to the lowest depths of treason in the interest of cheap and compliant labor.