Children of illegal immigrants lobby on Capitol Hill

WP: U.S. kids fear parents' deportation

By N.C. Aizenman
The Washington Post
Updated: 6:52 a.m. MT April 2, 2007

As the government's crackdown on illegal immigrant workers has intensified in recent months, so have the consequences for a large group of U.S. citizens: American-born children of illegal immigrants.

Numbering at least 3.1 million, according to an analysis by the Urban Institute and the Pew Hispanic Center, such children range from teenagers steeped in iTunes and MySpace to toddlers just learning their ABCs.

Until recently, their parents' illegal status had limited impact on these children's lives, because, although every year hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants are detained attempting to cross the U.S. border, once they make it in, they are rarely caught.

But the increase in raids against companies employing illegal workers is beginning to change that.