Study: 4 million 'illegal' immigrant children are native-born cit

It is natural for children to be with their parents. Yet, current immigration laws are tearing some families apart. Of the 5.5 million children born to illegal immigrants in this country, about 4 million were born in the U.S. legally and are thus citizens. As a result, if their parents are caught and deported, these children are forced to decide between their families and the country they have grown up in. When 14-year-old Julie Quiroz encountered this decision two years ago, she chose to stay in the U.S., but her two brothers and sister left for Mexico with their mother. Although Julie is grateful to the Christian philanthropist who helps her stay, she expresses deep pain about the separation. “It's really, really hard to leave your family” she says.

Even if deportation does not occur, circumstances are still tough for the children of illegal immigrants. 1 in 3 of these children lives in poverty; that is over 1.8 million children. An increasing number of these illegal immigrant children are also attending school; they make up 7 percent of students enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grade, rising from 5.4 percent in 2003. If these students choose to go with their parents upon deportation, many will have wasted this education. Although groups like the Organization to Help Citizen Children are providing a valuable service by supporting children whose parents are deported, this is not an all-encompassing solution. Hopefully, the Obama administration will go forward with its plans to create a “path to citizenship” for illegal immigrants and prevent immigrant families from being broken up.