Congresswomen: Karen Bass and Lucille Roybal-Allard: Currently, according to the Applied Research Center’s report “Shattered Families,” at least 5,000 children of immigrants live in U.S. foster care because their parents were detained or deported. If the current trends hold, the center estimates, 15,000 more children over the next five years will be ripped away from their mothers and fathers as a result of federal immigration enforcement actions.

In the wake of immigration arrests, law enforcers often don’t allow detained immigrant parents the opportunity to make proper arrangements for the care of their children. Kids can come home from school, only to find their mothers and fathers gone. …

If a child has entered the foster-care system, parents must meet the requirements of a child-welfare case plan to regain custody of their kids. This plan may require parents to demonstrate that they can meet the health and welfare needs of their children, yet Medicaid, most mental health services and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families are not available to many of them because of their immigration status.

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