Foster care, uncertain futures loom for thousands of immigrant children

Immigration and the Church
Jan 30, 2012

WASHINGTON -- More than 5,000 children of immigrants are languishing in state foster care nationwide because their parents were living in the United States illegally and were detained or deported by federal immigration authorities.

These children can spend years in foster homes, and some are put up for adoption after termination of their parents' custody rights. With neither state nor federal officials addressing the problem, thousands more are poised to enter the child welfare system every year.

"They can be dropped into the foster care system for an indefinite period of time," says Wendy D. Cervantes, vice president for immigration and child rights policy at First Focus, a bipartisan advocacy organization in Washington, D.C. "This causes severe long-term consequences to a child's development. It has a negative impact on the country as a whole and a direct impact on taxpayers. The fact that these children have parents means they shouldn't be in the system in the first place."