Child immigrants

DEFINITION: Immigrants who have not yet reached the legal age of majority—typically people under eighteen years of age.

SIGNIFICANCE: The estimated millions of child immigrants residing in the United States in the twenty-first century presented unique anomalies for those charged with enforcing immigration laws. Children often become the innocent victims of such lawsespecially those who belong to families of undocumented aliens. Although these children frequently lived much of their lives within the United States, they are often deported as illegals and returned to countries whose languages they do not speak and customs they do not know.

The United States is a society built by immigrants who flowed into the country in vast numbers during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Whether these newcomers were fast or slow to adapt to their new surroundings, their childrenas second-generation immigrantsquickly learned the language and customs of their surroundings. Their assimilation was accelerated by intermarriage and was generally smoother for immigrants from most of Europeas they bore a general similarity of appearance to the majority population of native-born Americans of European descent. Slower to be assimilated were those whobecause of skin pigmentation and other featureslooked different from most of the European immigrants. Asians often created their own ethnic enclaves, and such enclavesas Chinatownscontinued to thrive as many as three or four generations after their founders arrived in the United States.

In many of America’s large cities, tight-knit ethnic communities were formed by those of similar backgrounds. However, by the second or third generations, the structures of most such communities tended to weaken as their younger members became upwardly mobile and entered professions outside their communities, rather than remaining in the ranks of unskilled laborers that they had formerly occupied.

Accepting American Ways

The most crucial step toward assimilation is learning the language of one’s adopted country. In many immigrant familiesparticularly those from eastern European nationsimmigrant parents insisted only English be spoken in their homes. Consequently, their children tended to gain English fluency quickly.

Many eastern European immigrants arrived at seaports on the East Coast of the United States and settled in such coastal cities as Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. In cities that provided free or inexpensive education, or in some casesas in New York Citythrough higher education, the children of immigrants hastened to take full advantage of the educational opportunities available to them.

Classification of Child Immigrants

Child immigrants can be classified within a number of categoriesranging from infants adopted from foreign countries by American citizens to the children of aliens, documented and undocumented, who may be seeking citizenship independently, or as members of families. Although most legislation on immigration professes respect for family unification, significant problems arise for the children of undocumented aliens.

All children born in the United States or in its territories are automatically legal US citizens. Their birth certificates are proof of their citizenshipeven if they are born to undocumented parents. However, the citizenship of a child has little bearing on the parents' immigration status. These parents remain undocumented aliens, andif apprehendedare subject to deportation.

American citizens often seek to adopt children from other countries. Historically, such childrenwho were usually babies at the time of their adoptiondid not automatically become US citizens. However, if their adoptions were approved by the appropriate federal government authorities, the adopting parentson proving their willingness and ability to assume the full responsibilities of parenthoodroutinely obtained citizenship for their adopted children.

The Child Citizenship Act of 2000 streamlined the process through which internationally adopted children may gain American citizenship. In the past, children who were approved for adoption were routinely granted citizenship after entering the United States. Under the provisions of the 2000 law, however, US citizenship is granted immediately upon the approval of adoption in the child’s native country so the adopted infant can enter the United States as a fully documented citizen.

US citizens who adopt older children holding foreign citizenship can usually obtain US citizenship for these children if they are under eighteen years of age. However, they must present convincing evidence that they are not adopting merely so the children can obtain citizenship. Such practices have been dubbed “adoptions of convenience,” which are similar to “marriages of convenience”—agreements entered into for the sole purpose of obtaining citizenship. Adoptive parents must usually verify they have supported their adopted children for substantial periodsusually two yearsprior to filing their applications for citizenship.

Naturalization of Stepchildren and Orphans

Stepchildren constitute another category pertaining to child immigration. When American citizens marry spouses whose children are not citizens, they can apply to have their new stepchildren declared US citizens. Stepparents do not necessarily have to adopt their stepchildren to make them eligible for citizenship, but they must demonstrate that they have contributed significantly to the children’s support and upbringing for a minimum period of time if the children are declared to have non orphan status.

When children have orphan status, the requirement for nonorphans is not enforced. An orphan is defined as a child whose natural parents have died, disappeared, or abandoned the child. Such children are eligible for permanent resident status if they are being adopted by US citizens. A child who has lost one parent may be designated an orphan if the surviving parent has not remarried and is incapable of supporting the child in question. The surviving parents must surrender their parental rights in order for their children to be declared orphans.

Adopting single parents must be twenty-five years of age or older to qualify as petitioners for adoption. However, married people need not meet this age requirement. Adopting parents need only meet the adoptive parent requirements of the states in which they file their petitions.

Twenty-first Century Legislation

In October 2000, President Bill Clinton signed the Intercountry Adoption Actwhich adhered to the Hague Convention on International Adoption. This bill was intended to simplify the process for adopting children from foreign countries. Although the new law was a significant step forward, it did not take effect immediately. The federal government first had to establish a Central Adoption Authoritythe details of which had to be established and agreed to by all participating parties.

In a continuing effort to streamline the adoption of children from foreign countries in 2009, the Families for Orphans Coalition (FACE) supported a bill in both the US Senate and the House of Representatives for legislation to be called the Foreign Adopted Children Equality Act. The bill was sponsored by John Boozman and Diane Wilson in the Senate and by Mary Landrieu and James Inhofe in the House. Under the provisions of this act, citizenship would be granted immediately to all foreign children being adopted by US citizens so they would enter the United States as full-fledged citizensrather than as petitioners for citizenship. This act would eliminate the need for adopted children in this category to obtain immigration visas in order to enter the United States. Rather, they are declared “citizens from birth.” Whereas children who enter the United States on immigration visasalbeit legallymight at some future date be denied scholarships, passports, or entry into the US armed forcesthe new status would bestow upon foreign adoptees all the rights and privileges of anyone born in the United States.

Passage of this 2009 bill would potentially eliminate many heartbreaking situations that afflicted those who entered the United States on immigration visas. Under the old rule, adopted children who have lived virtually their entire lives within the United States could convicted of committing minor juvenile offensesbe deported to their countries of origin. It is estimated that one-half of the adopted children who enter the United States each year do so on visas that place them at risk of deportation in the future. As of 2016, however, the bill had not been passed.

In 2021, the Biden Administration ceased the Trump Administration’s 2019 public charge regulations and returned to the use of the 1999 field guidance. This change was intended to encourage immigrant families to seek health care without fear of deportation or investigation. The 2019 public charge regulations caused even lawfully present immigrants to avoid government assistance and, therefore, avoid necessary healthcare during the global pandemiche fears created were noted to likely continue for many years.

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programestablished in 2012 to protect certain immigrantsenabled over 900,000 immigrants to remain in the US. Though new applications for this program were suspended, nearly 600,000 DACA recipients lived in the US in September 2022. The Biden administration published a rule in October 2022 to allow those individuals to renew their status and remain in the US.

Title 42 is a section of the Public Health Services Act which allows the Directors of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to prevent immigrant entry into the US. In 2020, under this act, the Trump administration implemented rigid rules and expedited expulsion of migrants, reacting to COVID-19. Because of legal challenges, the Biden administration was unable to repeal this decisionbut the restrictions at the border were predicted to end on May 11, 2023, when the public health emergency was planned to cease.

USCIS Procedures

All persons applying for US citizenshipexcept for very young childrenmust undergo interviews conducted by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services. At these interviews, applicants are fingerprinted and given two testsone to demonstrate their ability to speak, write, and read English and the other to demonstrate their knowledge of basic American government and history. Older applicants are occasionally granted exemptions from the language test. Those who pass the tests are immediately informed they have passedhose who do not pass one or both tests may apply to retake the tests at a later date.

Children Born Abroad to US Citizens

Children born in foreign countries to US citizens receive American citizenship immediately if both their parents are already US citizens. In cases in which only one parent is a citizen, the children must live in the United States for at least five years—two of which must be after the child reaches the age of fourteen. In the latter situation, full citizenship must be applied forbut granting it is routine.

Unaccompanied Child Immigrants

In extreme cases regarding countries experiencing a prodigious amount of violencerelated to gangs and drugsterror, or economic hardship, an increased number of unaccompanied child immigrants have made the dangerous journey to settle illegally in America on their ownmany have family in the United States. In 2014, the drastic surge in the number of children risking their lives to cross through Mexico over the border into the United States from Central American countries such as Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala caused President Barack Obama to recognize the influx as a great humanitarian concerneventually enlisting the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to oversee a relief effort. According to the Pew Research Center, there was a 117 percent increase in the number of unaccompanied children age twelve and younger who had been apprehended at the border by June 2014the Migration Policy Institute reported that by the end of that year, almost seventy thousand unaccompanied minors had been caught at the border. To the United States, the majority of these children are smuggled, staying in questionable "safehouses" along the way and typically riding on top of a train—despite the risk of falling off. If they do reach the border, they are usually taken into custody and held in detention facilitieswhich were overcrowded for the majority of the 2010s and 2020s. By 2015, the immigration status of several of the children was still not settled, and according to reports, the number of children crossing the border had sharply increased once more by the end of the year.

Beginning in 2016, the plight of underaged immigrant children took backstage to the overall issue of immigration. Beginning with his first public statement announcing his candidacy in 2015, Donald Trump made immigration a central theme of his three presidential campaigns (2016, 2020, 2024) and presidency (2017-2021). The American public came to accept immigration as a core national issuemmigration reduction and border control evolved into important party platforms for both political parties.

The Covid-19 pandemicwhich began in 2020had the effect of shrinking the US economy and reducing the number of immigrants into the US. Demand for labor increased following the economic rebound in the subsequent years. Coupled with worsening economic and security environments in native countries, immigration efforts resumed in historic numbershis included large numbers of unaccompanied children. United States law defined the mandatory protections US authorities provided migrant children in their custody during the adjudication of their cases. Nonetheless, US political sentiment in the mid-2020s turned against immigration. As support for immigration into the US reached quarter-century lows, criticisms of both the Trump and Biden administrations emerged over allegations their immigration policies violated legal protections for minors.

The Trump administration’s approach to border control was regarded by critics to be harsh and dangerous for children. By 2020, a years-long crisis at the border separated more than 5,000 children from their parentswith over 500 unable to locate their parents again. Complicating this further, COVID-19 called for new, strict immigration protocols, and asylum seekers were turned away which negatively impacted immigrant children. Though children under seven were required by law to be held in detention no longer than 72 hours, the overwhelming number of individuals in detention caused this to be exceeded more often than not. Expelling children back to Mexico or South American countries put them at great risk of assault, gang violence, or other unsafe conditions. Parents were given the impossible choice of being separated from their children or taking them back to these harsh conditions. In January 2022, more than 15,000 unaccompanied minors attempted to cross the border. Of these, the majority were between 15 and 17 years of age, but some were as young as six years old. In May 2022, more than 12,000 unaccompanied minor children reentered the US border after being expelled the previous year.

United States law defined the mandatory protections US authorities provided migrant children in their custody during the adjudication of their cases. Nonetheless, US political sentiment in the mid-2020s turned against immigration. As support for immigration into the US reached quarter-century lows, criticisms of both the Trump and Biden administrations emerged over allegations their immigration policies violated legal protections for minors.

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