When an illegal immigrant is deported, his or her children--who are often legal residents--end up with strangers or in foster care.

It's a fear among many Hispanics that is now going to be addressed in Little Rock.

Activist and Hispanic leader Ari Chagoya is proud to announce a new series of meetings she's offering to Little Rock's Hispanic community called “Deportation: What happens to the children?"

(Ari Chagoya, Organizer) “It's a big issue--it's a number one worry, I think--all the immigrants have been telling me. Deportations are going to happen, so what are we going to do?"

The meetings will all be in English and Spanish. Chagoya hopes they'll be an opportunity for participants to share their stories and fears about the safety of their children--and come up with some creative solutions.

(Chagoya) “What I hear is that the kids usually go into foster care, the parents try to connect. I don't know exactly what happens--no one seems to know what happens. I think there are some attempts with ICE to get the parents together with the children, but there seems to be a communication barrier at times.”
For Chagoya, it's all about opening up the lines of communication for everyone involved.

(Chagoya) “Rather than wait for it to happen, I figured my community needed to come together and face our fears and let's go ahead and deal with it.”

The next meeting will be Friday, August 29th from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Dee Brown Library.

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