Illegal Immigrants May Lose Custody of Their Children

Staff Writer, April 23, 2009

It has become more and more common for immigrant families to be picked up in raids along border towns, on farms and in factories where they work. When it has been determined that the individuals or families are, in fact, illegal immigrants, they are often placed in detention centers to await deportation. During this time in the detention centers, which operate like jails, children are often separated from their parents.

Even if a child is American-born, he or she may be placed in a separate facility or in foster care until the federal government determines how it can deal with his or her parents. There have been many cases reported in recent months of these children actually being taken away from their biological parents. Often, the foster parents will become attached to the child while his or her parents are in the detention centers. They will make an offer to adopt the child and raise him or her as an American.

Many judges, when presented with custody battles for the children of illegal immigrants, grant the rights to American couples. It is believed that a stable home environment in the United States would be preferable to life with the child’s original parents after deportation. There has been much debate over this issue in recent weeks.