ABSTRACT
Undocumented Immigrant Latin@ Youth and the U.S. Child Welfare System: The issue of undocumented immigrants in the United States has been primarily focused upon adults. When those adults are either accompanied by or give birth to children once in the United States, these children become the collateral damage of both immigration laws and the child welfare system. Totaling more than 5.3 million, these children are faced with a life potentially without one or both parents, placement into foster care, and many do not have the basic necessities to overcome obstacles. Many of these U.S.- born citizen children end up in child welfare as their parents are detected and deported by the U.S. government. As such, this chapter addresses the challenges faced by unaccompanied undocumented immigrant youth and U.S.-born children with undocumented parents (detained/deported) in their process through the United States’ child welfare system. Looking at Latino immigrant youth through a sociological, legal, and ethical point of view, the policies and practices of the child welfare system are observed in historical and contemporary contexts.
