Posted on 04/09/2011 4:06:25 PM PDT by moonshinner_09
In the two years since her father was deported, 13-year-old Elisabeth and her three younger siblings have settled into an after school routine while their mother, Maria Lourdes, works long hours at a beauty salon.
The family shares a cramped bedroom in a Waukegan apartment. When school friends wonder why her father is no longer in the picture, Elisabeth has learned to change the subject
"I don't answer," she said. "It's such a long story."
After Elisabeth's father was deported, the family moved briefly to Mexico. But domestic discord led Maria Lourdes to return to Waukegan with her children, who were born here and are U.S. citizens. She, like her husband, is undocumented, but has applied for a visa to remain in the country. Now, the four children carry on in America as best as they can, just like a growing number of young people who were born in this country and have seen one or both parents deported.
Those who work with such children say they've seen an increase in the cases locally. As a result, churches, schools and advocacy groups are left scrambling to help once-stable households deal with poverty, foreclosures, academic failure and other problems that come when so-called mixed immigration status families are split up.
The separation creates an "angry generation" of children who feel traumatized and disaffected but still choose to stay in the U.S. rather than face potential poverty, violence, and cultural and language barriers abroad. For some, advocates say, life in America is all they know.
"It's a horrific situation," said Josh Hoyt, director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. "Given that we have this vastly increased number of deportations … we're trying to create infrastructure or support, specifically for people that have done nothing criminal other than come
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
they didnt have to leave the kids..
What do you expect?
Many of these are felonies. ALL "undocumented immigrants" are criminals, no matter what their "intentions" were. Keep the families together....send'em ALL to Mexico. If the kids are citizens, they can come back when they are adults, and no, mommy and daddy will NOT be allowed back if, as, and when that happens.
I agree. What kind of parent would leave their kids in a foreign country? I’d rather us all be together and face hardships than wonder whether or not my kids were all right.
No author but at the end: vortiz@tribune.com
Bet it’s Victor Ortiz and he interviewed the mother in spanish.
awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
too freakin bad
“After Elisabeth’s father was deported, the family moved to Mexico.”
That should be the end of the story.
Here’s an idea...... go home to papa!
Baloney. Single parent children are now the norm, not the exception.
Ok, the parents come to the U.S. and try to make a life, illegally, and then the kids are “angry”? With whom? The U.S.? They need to blame their parents!!
I can see it now. As a white person, I get blamed for slavery which I didn’t commit, and now as whitey in the U.S., I’ll get blamed because immigrant kids got deserted by their parents.
Can’t win.
This isn’t about deportation this is about a couple who couldn’t get along.
___________________________________________________________
Not even. This “my husband is abusing me” ruse is commonly used to gain asylum here.
I don’t think there is any discord.
“potential” poverty; “marital discord”
Moms and Dads get separated and divorced over all sorts of reasons; Mom not wanting to live at the life-standard Dad can provide is one of those. Perhaps Mom should take steps to finalize a divorce and remarry in order to provide a family structure and support her children. Or perhaps Mom should accept responsibility for who she married, and the crime she and he committed, and return to her husband in Mexico, to work with him instead of against him.
Mom whining about it and expecting reparations (and teaching her children to, also) in whatever form one wants to call it, is nonproductive and just extends the children’s pain. Cowgirl up, Mommy Dearest.
Leave this country, you invader bums! I don’t want to support you and your loser parents who abandoned you. Be gone!
The article seems to be saying that birthright citizenship is cruel to children.
Let us end it, then.
All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the State wherein they reside...
Someone who is born to parents who are foreign nationals, here illegally, is not 'subject to the jurisdiction thereof', but born to parents of a another country. These are not immigrants, but invaders.
Had the parents been here legally, as legal immigrants, they would have been subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, and the children would be citizens.
I think that 'anchor baby' status is a gross misinterpretation of the 14th Amendment, and I think that misinterpretation (by Globalists and other Open Borders types) is no accident, but a willing affront to our Soverign Country and our Constitution.
But domestic discord led Maria Lourdes to return to Waukegan with her children
I live in Baja. I’m an American and I own a restaurant. I employee Mexicans. I also attend a local Bilingual Church. The USA has been deporting hundreds since 911. I see the impact everyday. Mostly Mexicans who have lived in the USA for 10-15 years and never completed their visa paperwork. If they get involved in any crime they are deported and never allowed to apply again. There is supposed to be a 10 year waiting period before being able to re-apply, but with the backlog most will never be able to apply. Most could sneak back across or hire someone to take them, but they all know if they are caught they go directly to jail and most are scared of going back. So the system is working. Unfortunately there are no jobs here. The Mexican government is incapable of creating any jobs. The tourist areas are hurting the most. Until this drug cartel issue is cleared up the struggle for jobs will continue. I have heard a few sad cases where they are dumped here in TJ and don’t know anyone in Mexico. But like most Mexicans they are survivors and they have seen this all before.
It will take another 3 to 5 years to clean up this mess and their image. Once that is done the influx of Americans will start up again. It is a beautiful place to retire. There about 25,000 Americans in Baja (I think). Beautiful weather, great people, no traffic and ocean views that would cost you at a minimum $500,000 in CA. The growth of the Americans moving here and the construction of vacation homes came to a standstill about 3 years ago.
Most of the violence in Baja is in TJ. If you mess with drugs and are in TJ after 1am you will find trouble. Until the American military brings down a professional Army to train the Mexican military this will take 10 more years. The Mexican Military is not getting the support they need and do not have the discipline that the USA military has. Anyway these are my thoughts..........
I don’t expect anything honest out of Chicago.
Please do not assume Mexico every time, they are the main source of these scofflaws, but certainly not the only.
They rolled the dice, hoping the kids would be an anchor to keep them here despite the law.
It’s time to reiterate that MERELY being born here, to ILLEGAL ALIEN parents is NOT a shortcut to permanent “immigration”!
We are being invaded, deport the entire family, NO exceptions.
In addition reduce LEGAL immigration from any source country by three times the number of illegals detected from that country.
We also need to repeal the “Kennedy Amendment” ASAP.
Personally, I have reached the point that I would eliminate ALL immigration, for at least ten years.
We have no actual control of our borders, we need a chance to catch up with the problem.
Eliminating legal immigration would free up more resources to deal with the illegals.
Good comment about breaking the law and then being surprised at the consequences. None the less, the children are innocent parties and I value every immigrant that chooses to live in the US legally.
My dream solution to illegal immigration would be to try the immigrants by a jury of their neighbors. If twelve neighbors unanimously choose to give them amnesty, then let them stay. I think a lot of US citizens would be deported if given a trial by their neighbors.
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