Opinion

I’m illegal; can Trump deport my US citizen child?

IMMIGRATION CORNER - Michael J. Gurfinkel - The Philippine Star

June 8, 2025 | 12:00am

There have been news reports and rumors that the Trump administration is deporting US citizen children, along with their undocumented parents.

Are these news reports accurate? Are the rumors true? Can US citizen children be deported as part of Trump’s enforcement efforts?

The simple answer is “no.” An American citizen, especially one born in the US, cannot be deported. What is actually happening in these situations is that a parent of a US citizen child may have been found deportable/removable. The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) executes or carries out the removal order by taking the parent into custody and returning them to their home country. If that deportable parent has a US citizen child, they are given the choice or option of whether they want the child to remain in the US (perhaps with a relative) or, if the parent does not want to be separated from their child, then do they want to take their child back with them?

This policy is not new under the Trump administration. For over 50 years, courts have held that the mere fact that a deportable alien has a US citizen child is not recognized as a legal basis to prevent deportation of their undocumented and deportable parent. In one case, a young US citizen child argued that her parents should be allowed to remain in the US. Otherwise, it would effectively deny her right to remain in the US if she had to go with her parents when they were being deported.

But the court rejected this argument or reasoning, noting that such reasoning “would open a loophole in the immigration laws for the benefit of those deportable aliens who have had a child born while they were here.”

Simply put, having a US citizen child is not the equivalent of a visa. It does not protect or shield an out-of-status parent from being deported. In such a case, the parent would need to decide whether to leave the child in the US with friends or relatives or take the child back with them.

But a US citizen child might come to their parent’s rescue or defense in certain circumstances:

• Petition by a 21-year-old US citizen child. If the US citizen child is already over 21 years of age, that child could petition the parent(s) for green cards. In certain circumstances, the parent may be eligible to adjust status (apply for a green card) in the US, depending on the parent’s type of visa or manner of entry. (Some visas do not allow adjustment in the US, nor does the situation apply where the parent snuck across the border.)

• Cancellation of removal. If the parent has been in the US for at least 10 continuous years, is of good moral character and has a minor US citizen child, if they are later placed in deportation proceedings, they can ask the judge for a green card through cancellation of removal.

• Stay of removal. This is a plea or request to either the courts or ICE to exercise compassion and mercy to allow the parents to remain in the US based on humanitarian considerations and hardship to the child. But given Trump’s harsh enforcement efforts, it is unlikely a stay of deportation would be entertained. Moreover, cases from decades ago had also involved situations of a parent seeking a stay of deportation, and the courts upheld the government’s denial of the stay of deportation.

I wanted to clarify the misconception that having a US citizen child provides their parent with ironclad protection against deportation/removal. I also wanted to address the rumors that US citizen children are being deported. They are not. The parents simply chose to bring the child with them and avoid separation.

If you have issues, fears, concerns or problems with your immigration situation, you may want to consult with an attorney to see if there are pathways to legalization, in the same way that you might make an appointment with the doctor for a checkup. Here, it would be an immigration checkup.

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