Children of undocumented immigrants living in San Diego can sometimes become lost in the system when their parents are detained or deported. Foreign-born parents of children born in the United States sometimes opt to take their children with them, but many times the children are left with relatives. Occasionally, when parents are deported back to their countries quickly, children can unfortunately wind up in foster care when relatives cannot be located.

Two high-profile cases illustrate what can happen to children of parents struggling with the immigration process. In the first case, a mother is attempting to regain custody of her 5-year-old son after a poultry plant raid landed her in federal custody. She lost her parental rights, and her son was legally adopted by another family. In another case, a mother who was deported lost her four children to the foster system, where they are currently awaiting their fate.

A Cuban man was scheduled for an asylum hearing recently in San Diego after being detained by U.S. immigration officials at the San Ysidro Port of Entry over a year ago. The man previously spent more than 10 years in a Cuban prison for speaking out against Fidel Castro and is once again hoping to be freed, this time in the United States. The Department of Homeland Security considers the man a threat against national security, but the man's lawyers and the American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego and Imperial Counties dispute that claim. The ACLU has sued on the man's behalf, hoping to have him released from the detention facility until a decision is made regarding his asylum application.

The man, labeled a contra-revolutionary in Cuba, says that being detained has led him to view the U.S. in a similar light as Cuba. In a telephone interview, he compared his current situation in the U.S. to Cuba's laws that punish those who speak against the government. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not permit the man to be interviewed in person and would not discuss his case. A judge required the government to respond to the ACLU lawsuit by Jan. 26.

As many people who live in the San Diego area know, immigration issues are daunting for those who do not understand the complex legal process involved in immigration law. Many people living in this country may be affected by a new policy implemented by the United States Border Patrol. The Patrol is changing its policy on allowing illegal immigrants to return to their country voluntarily with no punishment. The change, announced on January 17, outlines what amounts to the toughest immigration policy changes since Operation Hold the Line began in 1993. Immigration and human rights advocates denounced the Border Patrol's new policy concerning deportation and removal proceedings as misguided and impractical.

The acting commissioner for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the agency has not eliminated voluntary departures. Rather, he claims it added new administrative procedures to the deportation process, dependent upon the criminal background of an individual. Recidivism is also a factor in the process, and the United States may choose to prosecute those who continue to cross the border illegally. In some cases, if the immigrant is not a high recidivist risk, formal deportation procedures may be used.

While there are many options for non-U.S. citizens to legally work in the U.S., sometimes the process of obtaining a work visa can be complicated. Unfortunately, some U.S. employers are skeptical of a person's employment status or afraid of being fined for hiring people who are not allowed to work in the U.S. This can make it very difficult on immigrants who have been approved to work in the U.S.

Recently, a situation similar to this happened in San Diego. Last month, the University of California, San Diego Medical Center was sued by the federal government over its hiring practices for immigrant employees. According to the government, the hospital was requiring immigrant employees and job applicants to provide an excessive and unfair amount of documentation before they could be hired. The federal government added that U.S. citizens were not subjected to the same treatment.