Sandra McAnany: Children pay high price in our fight over immigration
Story Discussion By Sandra McAnany / Norwalk | Posted: Sunday, January 10, 2010 12:15 am | (14) Comments

The exact number of undocumented immigrants in the United States is not known but is estimated at 12 million, including 1.8 million children. According to the Pew Hispanic Center, 75,000 to 115,000 undocumented immigrants live in Wisconsin.

And no matter how we feel about undocumented immigrants, we need to remember the innocent children whose lives are affected every day by the lack of progress toward reforming immigration regulations.

Imagine life as an undocumented child. Children come here illegally with their parents, grow up as Americans and then realize their futures are on hold. An estimated 400 to 650 undocumented children graduate from Wisconsin high schools yearly. Nationwide, there are about 65,000. Even though they are motivated and may have lived in the U.S. most of their lives, the children inherit the limits of being undocumented.

There is no federal financial aid for college for them. Only 11 states, including Wisconsin, allow them to pay in-state tuition. Their potential goes unrealized. Instead of becoming teachers, engineers and other professionals, they are stuck in low-wage jobs.

These kids are not just statistics but are also our friends and neighbors. One example is a young man in Monroe County who came here at age 12 with his parents, learned English, graduated from high school and now is working in retail. He is going to start taking college classes each semester but has no way of becoming legal, even though this is the country he loves. His story is repeated over and over in communities across the state.

Other children come to the U.S. on their own, without a relative. In 2008, 7,211 children were known to have entered the U.S. without documentation, searching for family or a better life, without understanding the legal consequences. When children are caught, they are often held be-hind bars, sometimes for years.

Providing immigration "prisons" for children, families and adults is a lucrative industry. The 32,000-bed network for undocumented immigrants costs taxpayers $2.4 billion a year. We are throwing this money away on secure detention instead of using cheaper methods to ensure low-risk immigrants show up for immigration court appearances.

Even children who are U.S. citizens are affected by the lack of reform. From 1998 to 2007, authorities deported more than 100,000 undocumented parents of U.S. citizen children. An estimated 3.1 million U.S. citizen children have at least one un-documented parent - one immigration raid or traffic stop from a family torn apart.

After two-thirds of Hispanics voted for Barack Obama, I thought reform would be a priority, but it has stayed on the back burner. The Dream Act (S.B. 729) could make a difference for undocumented immigrants. Under Dream Act provisions, undocumented youths could be eligible for a conditional path to citizenship in exchange for pursuing at least a two-year college degree or entering military service. Children would have to prove they arrived in the U.S. before the age of 16, prove that they have resided in the country for at least five years and have graduated from a U.S. high school or obtained a GED.

The Dream Act would give undocumented children a path to a better future. These children could turn into adults making higher salaries and paying into the tax system. Undocumented children are human beings, our friends and neighbors. They deserve compassion and a path to turn dreams into reality.

Posted in Opinion, Columnists on Sunday, January 10, 2010 12:15 am

http://www.lacrossetribune.com/news/opi ... 03286.html