Sonia has lived in the U.S. without legal status for 25 years, harvesting crops while fearing detention. Her anxiety grew as her son questioned why a neighbor picks him up from preschool. To prepare for potential deportation, she sought legal help to arrange care for her three American citizen children. Following recent ICE raids in Los Angeles, immigrant parents are urgently filling out forms for alternate guardianship for their children, with millions of U.S. children affected by having undocumented household members, sparking a surge in legal consultations.
"I already want to cry," said Sonia, who requested that her full name not be used to protect her.
Parents have flooded legal rights organizations in person and on Zoom for help filling out the forms that will designate another adult to take over responsibility of their children.
An estimated 5.62 million American children have an undocumented household member, and nearly 2 million of them are under the age of 6.
Since June 6 - when the Department of Homeland Security began widespread raids throughout the Los Angeles region - the number of immigrant parents making emergency arrangements for their children's care has skyrocketed.
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