In the United States, one in four children are from immigrant families, making them the fastest growing child population in the country. Today, many of these children live in fear as their families are torn apart by ever-changing immigrant status policies. Despite many having citizen status, some children face deportation themselves due to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) increased racial profiling.
President Trump and his administration campaigned on deporting immigrants to lower crime and reduce inflation. On the first day of his second term, President Trump issued an executive order to end birthright citizenship, purporting that, “the Fourteenth Amendment has never been interpreted to extend citizenship universally to everyone born within the United States” meaning citizenship does not apply to those whose parents were not lawful residents at the time of their birth.
The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, has struck down the executive order, affirming that all children born on U.S. soil are guaranteed citizenship by the Fourteenth Amendment. Trump has not given up on revoking birthright citizenship, claiming he intends to “make it up in Congress through legislation.”
As the federal government debates who is guaranteed citizenship in the U.S., children of immigrant families suffer. Over one in seven adults in immigrant families reported their children feeling emotional distress or anxiety about immigration related concerns.
In Texas in February 2025, 11 year-old Jocelynn Roja Carranza died by suicide after being bullied by her peers for her family’s immigration status. Two weeks later, 13 year-old Gabriela Aparicio Ortega took her own life after being bullied for the same reasons.
In addition to intense emotional distress, children are also losing access to basic needs because of the federal and state government’s rollback of resources for immigrant families.
Ashley Elementary in Denver has a population of primarily immigrant children. Enrollment has gone from 400 students to 250 as immigrant families are displaced across the nation or deported back to their home country. With a big hole in the school’s budget, there has been a huge cut to resources and staff. In Denver, there are a number of resources for children of immigrants like the Denver Children’s Advocacy Center’s Immigrant Family Initiative, which provides support and resources to immigrant children and their families.
The nonprofit Casa de Paz welcomes those recently released from the detention center in Aurora and helps family members reunite with their loved ones. In 2025,408 new volunteers joined Casa de Paz where they worked together to welcome 424 new guests out of detention.
In a time when birthright citizenship is under attack, community is as vital to ensure our neighbors are treated like human beings.
