An unprecedented increase in the deportation of undocumented immigrants has left an estimated 5,100 children languishing in U.S. foster homes — a troubling figure that could triple in the coming years, Huffington Post reports.
According to the “Shattered Families” report from the Applied Research Center, The Obama administration deported 46,000 parents of children who are U.S. citizens in the first six months of 2011.
Government data shows a total of 397,000 expulsions in fiscal year 2011, with half involving people with criminal records.
“This means that almost one in four people deported is the parent of a United States citizen child,” said Seth Freed Wessler, the report’s chief investigator and author.
READ MORE: Huffington Post