Tough new state immigration laws are striking fear in the hearts of illegal immigrants with American-born children.
“I worry about my children,” says one father of two young kids in Carrollton, Georgia. He didn't want to give his name, because he has no legal right to reside in the United States. “My kids were born here. What will happen with them? We don’t know, and that’s the fear we have.”
Georgia, like Alabama, Arizona and Utah, recently passed a tough immigration law.
The longer Congress waits to deal with immigration reform, the louder states seem to scream for action. According to the National Conference of Legislatures, an all-time high of 1,538 bills dealing with immigrants and refugees have been introduced in state legislatures this year alone. These measures include things like employment verification requirements for businesses and restrictions on public health services and college access for illegal immigrants. But the most worrisome for many parents are those giving local law enforcement more power to do federal immigration checks.
“Don’t worry!" is a message Atlanta immigration lawyer Charles Kuck gives his clients all day long. He’s one of those challenging the Georgia law’s constitutionality in federal court.
“These laws are bad, and they’re going to have a tremendous effect on the community. But for now we say, ‘Calm down.’ This law is meant to silence people, and we have to at this time not be silenced. We have to be vocal and not shut up.”
But for parents who fear separation from their American children, it’s easier said than done. About 2.5 million families in the U.S. have undocumented immigrant parents and American-born children, according to the Pew Hispanic Center's Jeff Passel.
“I’m planning to move to Miami, where I have some family,” says one undocumented mother of three who lives in Georgia. “But they tell me that the law is also being considered there.”
State lawmakers acknowledge many of these bills are meant to send a message to Washington.
“This problem is never going to be solved completely until the federal government deals with it,” says Georgia Republican State Rep. Matt Ramsey, author of the Georgia immigration bill.
So far, Washington has shown little reaction to states' enacting immigration bills. “The drive for comprehensive immigration reform has shown unsuccessful,” House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Virginia, told the Atlanta Press Club on May 20.
Two weeks earlier, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told the club only that that she didn’t like a patchwork of states taking on immigration reform.
As federal immigration reform languishes, undocumented immigrant parents of American children gain time. If they can avoid deportation until their firstborn turns 21, that child can apply for his or her parent’s legal status.
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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Simple solution – take your kids with you there your children not the US tax payers children – why should we have to pay to raise your kids
Easy to say...Not so easy when u spend thousands of dollars and wait in line for 5 yrs...im in the same boat....because of the backlog i dont have proper papers...i pay taxes...employ 5 citizens....i have citizen children....the cases for 2002 are being processed now....so i have another 4 yrs....i cannot work legally....but im self employed.....pay taxes....never a public charge...
They are American citizens the same way as you are: by birth. There nothing you can do about it. You cannot deport American citizens no matter how much hate, ignorance and racism you will spill out. But you will have to pay for their education, medical care, welfare etc. for the next 18 years and NOTHING you can do about that. This is a lost "war". The question is: do you want to pay for those kids or would you rather legalize their parents and give them an opportunity to support them?
im pretty sure he feeds them clothes them and educates them with his own money....
So, what you are saying is that American laws don't flag La Raza in fast enough?
Actually, my comment was for Mike not Michael, the original poster.
We do not hate illegal immigrants. Simply, we cannot afford to keep them around.
@ kolos100
They are NOT American citizens "by birth"!
Did you know that by our own laws, the children of State Diplomats BORN in America ARE NOT CITIZENS!!!
You have no concept of the 14th amendment... it was meant for FELLOW AMERICANS, not DIRT FARMERS!!!
And no, their parents DO NOT DESERVE OUR HELP! Deport them and charge their home countries $100,000 a head… times that by the tens of millions of illegal aliens, and POOF! Debt crisis solved…
Actually learn the "law" before you cry wolf...
mike, I'm *glad* it isn't easy to get citizenship. Frankly...most things worth having take a lot of work to get. One seldom values that which is given. And since this is my birthright you're asking to share... I, for one, would like to be sure you really WANT to become an American, not just profit from what my family, and others like us, built.
So? Kick em out. They are breaking the law. Send them to where ever they are from and tell them to take their anchor babies too!
They are American citizens the same way as you are: by birth. Look at your birth certificate. If you will suggest that you are better citizen or have more rights than those children you will break the law. You cannot discriminate based on origin. You cannot deport American citizens no matter how much hate, ignorance and racism you will spill out. There nothing you can do about it. But you will have to pay for their education, medical care, welfare etc. for the next 18 years and NOTHING you can do about that. This is a lost "war". The question is: do you want to pay for those kids or would you rather legalize their parents and give them an opportunity to support them?
Kolos, we've got to get to that 14th Amendment soon. The economic abuse of this nation's resources using this one thing is huge.
The only reason they are American citizens by birth is because the law says so. Change the law. Easy. Ok, on to the next issue...
@ kolos100
They are NOT American citizens "by birth"!
Did you know that by our own laws, the children of State Diplomats BORN in America ARE NOT CITIZENS!!!
You have no concept of the 14th amendment... it was meant for FELLOW AMERICANS, not DIRT FARMERS!!!
And no, their parents DO NOT DESERVE OUR HELP! Deport them and charge their home countries $100,000 a head… times that by the tens of millions of illegal aliens, and POOF! Debt crisis solved…
Actually learn the "law" before you cry wolf...
2.0
awe... the poor law breaker finally is seeing why doing things illegally catches up with you. CNN you can put your spin on this issue anyway you want but the fact is that this guy is here illegally. end of story. did u know that you cant say racune on here? its just a furry little animal! i wonder why that is? LMAO!
I find it alarming how "professional journalists" fail repeatedly to differentiate between a legal immigrant and an illegal alien.
Poor Kids! Their victims of the poor choices made by their parents!
1. Come here legally (Apply for Citizenship)
2. Pay your taxes
3. Learn the language
4. Pledge your allegiance to the United States of America in good faith
This four-step process would have saved your kids and yourself a lot of grief!
What language? As far as I've been taught there is no official language in the United States...
Legal system itself is broken. Take for example, Employment Based 3rd category for India, USCIS is processing 2002 papers that's about 13 years backlog. Legal people are suffering... why would you think legal system is working. There should not be any backlog. About 150,000 people are waiting almost 13 to 15 years, paid taxes, contributed to this economy. What have Fed done? I wish that had done Visa Recapture about 500,000. Is there any sympathy towards Legal system that worked 50 years ago? Immigration System is broken my friend.
@ Todd – No, but the majority (that thing that's a foundation of Democracy) speaks English.
I agree they should learn the language (english). If you go to any other country you are expected to learn the native language, why not here? Why should i have to learn spanish because of there ignorance?
Yes, what language? Until La Raza births enough voters on American soil at our expense, we have press 1 English... After La Raza has outbred us and turned the nation into another third world dump, it will be Spanish. I cannot help but think "illegal parasite" every time I hear someone speaking Spanish. No, actually, I think, "arrogant, illegal, parasite."
If I were hispanic and had the self respect and respect for the nation I would like to accept me, I would resent these demanding bums making me look like a sneaking thief and a parasite.
The Immigration Reform should not be an amnesty. It should be a reallocation of resources and priority. Priority should be given to legal immigrants who bring in capital, US-needed know-how, and employment opportunities for US. We should not further import Mexican poverty. 11 million, some said 15 million, of illegal alien is alarming figure. Imagine 3-5% of the population is illegal alien. What will be the impact on resources of education, social welfare, employment.
Here's a way we can save various states quite a bit of money. Print all government information in English only. I couldn't believe the last time I went into the DMV and saw the Driver's Manual in like 15 different languages. But you know what, on my way back, I didn't see any street signs in anything but English...
TESTING... rac
TESTING... oon
"In the first place we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the man's becoming in very fact an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag, and this excludes the red flag, which symbolizes all wars against liberty and civilization, just as much as it excludes any foreign flag of a nation to which we are hostile...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."
Theodore Roosevelt
Teddy was wrong: multiculturalism, not assimilation.
Todd: you're an idiot. Take a look at the Balkans, as one example, and you'll understand the folly of multicultualism. It's interesting that you say TR was wrong, yet assimilation was a great model for waves of immigrants to the US for years. Only now, as we encourgae multicultualism do see ghettoization of immigrant groups and related problems.
Viva La Raza! Everything for La Raza and nothing for anyone else!
ya put those together and nada Hmmm...
american pride.. very well spoken! racune racune racune! lol
@jj try it with two c's
CSnSC nope nada zip they dont like the cune part i guess oh my how this is truelly funny.. could be the weed tho hmmm...
“My kids were born here. What will happen with them? We don’t know, and that’s the fear we have.”
Take them with you or we can put them in foster care. Your anchor babinos will not keep you in the US.
Roll Tide.
Simple solution: go back to where you came from and enter the country legally.
Canada, That Socialist Country Liberals are always saying they are goin to move to, Deported these Illegals.
3rd world Serfs have no place in a 1st world country.
Lots of racism in these comments, but racists don't like being called racists, do they?
Racist ? Because we want our laws enforced ? You are free to take this guy and his kids and pay all his bills so the rest of us do not have to – if you are unwilling to do that then you are a hypocrit just wanting some one else to pay for youtr beliefs
Thank you, Michael.
And liberals hate being called liberals, don't they Todd?
Todd you seriously are a moron. There is nothing racist about wanting to deport people who are here ILLEGALLY. Its not discrimination its the fact that we can't afford to have so many leeches not paying taxes yet recieving the benefits of citizenship. If you came here from Iceland I would say get citizenship or get out. The U.S. seems to be so caught up in being politically correct we aren't being legally correct. So get off this being racist this to me is about legality and taxes. I could care less what the people look like (but I know you just look like an idiot)
It's not racist, Todd. I don't think illegal Nowegians should be here either.