FEATURED EDITORIAL

Citizen kids have right to stay

6/10/2017

Baldemar Velasquez speaks during a graduation event for the first class of the FLOC Homies program in 2015.

Children who are born here are American citizens. If their parents are illegal aliens and get deported, should they go too? And who should decide?

Velasquez

Baldemar Velasquez says the parents should decide. The Farm Labor Organizing Committee president has recruited volunteers to help immigrants make and document plans for their children. The deportation process can move quickly, he said. Families need to be prepared.

Reese

Robin Reese, executive director of Lucas County Children Services, said children “have a voice in what happens to them.” It’s the agency’s responsibility to restore children to their parents, she said. But “we are not in the business of sending kids to other countries.”

And the immigration service isn’t in the business of deporting citizens.

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If an individual, including one designated by the parents, has legal custody, that person has the power to take the child overseas, said LCCS lawyer Cynthia Battles. But if Children Services has custody, even if the child has been placed with the person the parent picked, the agency would get a say on foreign travel.

In that process, the child’s voice should have the most weight, if he is old enough and mature enough to articulate it.

Young children often know little of the world beyond their families, and nothing may be more important for them than to be restored to their parents’ arms. But as people grow, they become integrated into society, not just their family. They learn the language of their nation. So young Americans should not be ripped from their country against their will because their parents have been deported.

Family and country are both important values, and children who are not prepared to choose between them should not be forced to. But when young citizens who understand their predicament express a clear preference, that preference should be respected.

Mr. Velasquez and his volunteers should be commended for trying to help parents preserve their families. In many cases, that’s what’s best for the children. But when a young citizen says he wants to stay in his own country — the United States — his government should protect his right to do so.