Law Commons^™

Competing values underlie U.S. immigration law and child welfare law. Immigration law often operates in ways that intentionally hinder family unity, which in the child welfare context enjoys tremendous constitutional protection. First, the operation of immigration law undermines family unity by failing to recognize the variety of family structures that exist, which has profound implications for millions of mixed status families, that is, families in which all family members do not hold the same immigration status. Second, immigration law hinders family unity because it does not recognize children's interests as a valid factor in immigration decisions, thereby failing to take …