"There are 1.7 million undocumented children, many of whom have been living in this country most of their lives and know no other homeland. They have been educated here and may speak (but barely read or write) in their parents' native language (Suarez-Orozco)." The parents came to escape drug lords, rape, gangs, or poverty. Immigrant parents gave up everything for the hope of a better life for their children. This country is the only home these children know. They are American in every way except they lack proper documentation. .
Children of illegal immigrant parents usually have working parents and live in poverty (Wight et al.). Most are law abiding citizens that have an occasional minor traffic violation. While these families make up twenty percent of the nation's children, they are less likely to receive help from government programs. Seventy percent of children of immigrant parents are legal citizens of the United States. Most children live in families that are considered "mixed status," meaning that the majority of children have one or both parents that are undocumented (Cauthen and Dinan). "[While] nearly every major human rights treaty recognizes the need for special protection for children [,]" these children are extremely vulnerable and unprotected by our government (Baum et al.). .
September 11, 2001, brought about many changes in the government departments that deal with immigrants. "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) undertakes immigration enforcement actions involving hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals.These actions include the arrest, detention, return, and removal from the United States (US).Primary responsibility for the enforcement of immigration law within DHS rests with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)" ("Immigration Enforcement Actions: 2010" 1). The 15 billion-plus budget legislated to DHS has fueled an immigrant-crackdown economy and increased the already-bloated prison industry (Barry 28).
