A single mother of three children — ages 6, 9 and 14 — recently brought them in to my office for physical exams. Later that day, she went to court for a deportation hearing.
The children were all healthy and we mostly discussed preventive care. Yet it felt futile. What could I tell her? “Talk to your teenage daughter right now about drugs, alcohol, abstinence, sex and birth control, given that you will probably be going to jail later this afternoon”?
I asked her who would care for her children. “A cousin,” she replied. Did the cousin know the children well? Not really. Any other relatives in town? No. When was the last time you were in Mexico? Twenty-two years ago. Have your children ever been to Mexico? No. They were born here.
In recent months, the number of families I know whose father or mother are in jail or facing jail time for deportation proceedings has increased. In almost all cases, the story has gone something like this: Minor traffic violation, no driver’s license (because they cannot legally obtain one), discovery that the driver is undocumented, court for deportation proceedings, jail time and expulsion.
With over 12 million undocumented people living in the U.S., this type of immigration enforcement will not succeed, not from a pure numbers standpoint nor an ethical standpoint. At best, only one parent is sent back to Mexico, leaving the other parent to care for the children. Perhaps the parent who was sent back to Mexico was the sole breadwinner. Now there is no money for food, rent, clothing, etc. The children have been separated from one of their parents, perhaps for years or maybe a lifetime. Or, like the case mentioned earlier, who cares for the children of a single parent while she is in jail? What if the child has chronic medical issues or is a newborn who needs to be breastfed?
What message are we sending to our own children and the children of these parents? That if you are caught living in the country illegally, your punishment will include the breakup of your family?
After all, deporting undocumented immigrants after jail time does not deter illegal immigration. Why had the single mother come in to my office, her day of deportation hearings, to have her children examined? Was it her final responsibility as a parent, her last- ditch attempt to prove that she was caring and responsible? What could I offer as a pediatrician? My hands were tied.
I wrote a letter to the court explaining my relationship to the family, saying that I believed the deportation was cruel and unusual punishment for the mother as well as her children. That was the best I could do. And I gave the mom a referral for psychological counseling for her children.
I don’t know what happened to her. If she was deported, her American children will need as much help as possible. Immigration policy is in need of major reform. This haphazard attempt is surely not the correct approach.
Janine Young is a pediatrician in Denver.
