Children & the Law Blog

The article Children of the State discusses the difficulties faced by Texas’ Child Protective Services when it comes to taking care of undocumented children. While child welfare is handled by the states, immigration is handled by the federal government, leading to conflict when these two spheres overlap. Indeed, new federal rules that are designed to deter illegal immigration have resulted in putting many state caseworkers at risk of fines and/or jail time for removing children who are here illegally from abusive homes. Although these children have often been declared wards of the state by the courts, the caseworkers can still be charged with “aiding an undocumented alien.”

Differences in opinion between the federal government and the state exist with regards to the federal government’s rule that undocumented children must pass a “mental health stability assessment” in order to obtain residency in the United States. Unfortunately, many children taken by CPS fail these assessments since they often suffer from emotional trauma due to abuse. Texas and the federal government also argue over the placement of undocumented immigrants in federal detention centers where the state lacks authority. The T. Don Hutto Residential Center in Texas became the focus of litigation last year regarding the poor living conditions there; children are treated like prisoners and forced to wear prison clothing.

If CPS decides that a juvenile should not be reunified with his or her family and should remain in the United States, CPS must apply to the federal government to designate the child as a Special Immigrant Juvenile. Unfortunately, states have little incentive to do this since they must cover all the costs of foster care for the child and for filing the paper work with the federal government.

“Children of the State: The feds and Texas quarrel over custody of undocumented kids” (May 16, 2008). Texas Observer. Available at: http://www.texasobserver.org/article.php?aid=2759