Who are the children of immigrant families?  Actually, what I really care about for now are the children of undocumented immigrant families.

Let’s back up and consider a few things.  As I see it, an undocumented immigrant is a person born in another country who enters our country illegally (without proper documents).  An undocumented immigrant might be living a totally legal and productive life in our country now (which is often the case), but he or she came here without proper documentation and so is considered an illegal immigrant. 

Let’s Do The Numbers

• We estimate that there are close to 12 million undocumented immigrants living in the US now.  Of these, slightly over 8 million of them are in the labor force (based on 2008 data).  
• Nearly half (47 percent) of the undocumented immigrant households in the US consist of couples with children.¹   

What’s The Right Question To Ask About Undocumented Immigrants?

We are in the midst of a public conversation about immigration reform, and one of the questions in this conversation is this: What do we do with the illegal immigrants currently living in the US? ²   

This is a good question, but it forces us to consider an important next question:  What do we do with the children of these undocumented immigrants?  Remember, nearly half (47 percent) of undocumented immigrant households consist of couples with children.     

Do We Want a Policy That Will Split Families?

So, let’s consider the better question:  Who are the children of these undocumented immigrants?  Did you know that about 74 percent of the children living with one or more undocumented immigrant parents is a US-born citizen?  We call these families “mixed status” families.  Perhaps, a reasonable (and biblical) approach to immigration reform will remember that an undocumented immigrant is likely to be a parent caring for a child, and that child might be a US-born citizen (one of us…).³  

As I see it, a policy that blindly removes undocumented immigrants from their homes and workplaces will likely split families.  My hunch (follow the sarcasm) is that it’s not a good idea to develop or continue a policy that knowingly creates more single-parent families, or worse, more orphans.

Lot’s Of Emotion

Whether we admit it or not there probably is hidden within most of us a smidgen of residual nativism.  Sure, we might agree that, unless we are Native American, such nativism is disingenuous.  Nevertheless, we tend to lurk comfortably and protectively behind the thoughts ”We were born here.  This is our land.  These are our jobs.”  Instead, perhaps we should be saying, “Hey, those are our children.” ⁴    

For a moment, for the sake of good conversation…at least for the children… let’s try to set aside a knee-jerk emotion that provokes us to “hunt down all illegal immigrants and deport ‘em”.  For this conversation, let’s at least wonder together, let’s be open to doubt.  Let’s doubt our assumptions just long enough to allow for a more humane treatment of our children and their families. ⁵   

For the children, let’s consider that our lingering resistance to comprehensive immigration reform might need to be questioned.  Can we doubt our old ideas about immigrants and immigration reform long enough to have this better conversation and get a bit closer to a rational, more biblical policy that cares for all of our children?

© Copyright by Jeffrey Y. Harlow, Ph.D (2010).

1. An undocumented immigrant household is defined as having at least one undocumented immigrant living there, usually an adult.  See the Kids Count Data Center of the Annie Casey Foundation, http://datacenter.kidscount.org, or the Pew Center’s 2009 report on unauthorized immigrant families, http://pewhispanic.org/reports/report.php?ReportID=107.   The information for this article is taken mostly from the Pew Center report.
2. To read what I think  about comprehensive immigration reform generally, see my previous article: Effective Immigration Reform And The Murky Middle . 
3. I feel compelled to add, from a biblical perspective, that one need not be a US citizen to enjoy welcoming love and care from others.  However, from a Constitutional perspective a US citizen regardless of heritage or origin or age is to be granted certain rights afforded all other citizens.
4. Many of us, after all, one way or the other, try to follow the Christ who not only welcomed the children but welcomed all the strangers in our land.
5. Doubt is especially good for this conversation…I think.  See my articles on doubt and a good conversation in the “Conversation” category to the right.  Try this one for example: Doubt Is Good, Certainty Is Bad, I Think .