More than five million youths—most of them U.S.-born and therefore citizens—would have better learning outcomes and a higher quality of life if the courts allow implementation of President Barack Obama’s executive order to postpone deportation of their undocumented immigrant parents.
That is the conclusion of a new report, released yesterday by university researchers in California, that documents educational and other disparities and disadvantages endured by the children of people who entered this country without authorization.
Robert Suro (Photo courtesy of University of Southern California)
Titled “Removing Insecurity: How American Children Will Benefit from President Obama’s Executive Action on Immigration,” the report was compiled by scholars at the University of Southern California and the University of California, Los Angeles. The report supports the Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) program, which would let qualifying fathers and mothers of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents remain in this country for three years and obtain work permits if they meet such conditions as passing criminal background checks and proof of continuous residence here since Jan. 1, 2010 or prior to that.
An estimated four and a half million U.S.-born children have at least one parent who’s an undocumented immigrant. Another 750,000 foreign-born youths who were brought here as undocumented immigrants would also benefit from implementation of DAPA.
The university researchers explored learning outcomes and educational attainment of the children of unauthorized immigrants. About 7 percent of all school-age children in this country have a parent who immigrated without authorization, according to the California report.
Among the findings, the report states:
