If Parents Get Deported, Who Gets Their Children?

As the Trump administration increases immigration enforcement actions against working adults, grandparents and other extended family members — often immigrants themselves — are stepping in to care for many of those children left behind.One in five children being raised by extended family members — grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins — live in an immigrant household, more than half a million children, a new report shows. And as the number of deportations continues to rise, the number of immigrant “grandfamilies” will increase as well, researchers say.These immigrant grandfamilies face formidable challenges: traumatized children, lack of easy access to social services such as Medicaid and food stamps, and a fear of engaging with government agencies lest caregivers be deported as well.Immigration advocates have called for greater resources from federal, state and local officials. Some state governments have stepped in, to help immigrant parents prepare for the prospect of being separated from their children, who often are American citizens, and to help caseworkers ensure that minors will be cared for if parents are deported.