"One in five children being raised by extended family members [in the US] — grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins — live in an immigrant household, more than half a million children, a new report shows," says this article from the Huffington Post. As the number of parents being deported from the US rises, the number of "grandfamilies" will also increase, according to the report. These families face several challenges, particularly as undocumented grandparents may not be eligible to become registered foster parents and receive state support to provide care to these children and are not eligible to receive other supports such as Medicaid and food stamps.
However, advocates are working to help these immigrant kinship families. "Children fare best when they can stay with family, research shows. And when they can’t stay at home, grandparents and other extended family members often are the best choice to care for them, child welfare advocates say," according to the article. Advocates are pushing "officials to ensure that social service agencies are immigrant-friendly, with language interpreters on hand, and to make it easier for eligible immigrants to access Medicaid and other federal health programs, such as the Children’s Health Insurance Program."
Advocates are also trying to address the issue of family separation due to parental deportation at national, state, and local levels to ensure the best care for children if they are separated from their parents by parental deportation. Some states have introduced laws allowing parents who are detained or at risk of deportation to designate a guardian for their children. “This gives parents an avenue to provide for their children’s security,” said Maryland state senator William Smith. “It’s a legal roadmap parents can create — before something happens.”