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24 Cornell J. L. & Pub. Pol'y 209 (2014-2015)
The Uprooting of the American Dream: The Diminished and Deferred Rights of the U.S. Citizen Child in the Immigration Context

handle is hein.journals/cjlpp24 and id is 217 raw text is: NOTE THE UPROOTING OF THE AMERICAN DREAM: THE DIMINISHED AND DEFERRED RIGHTS OF THE U.S. CITIZEN CHILD IN THE IMMIGRATION CONTEXT Joanne Joseph* The humblest citizen in all the land, when clad in the armor of a righteous cause, is stronger than all the hosts of error. - William Jennings Bryan' How should the Board of Immigration Appeals respect the rights of the U.S. citizen children of undocumented immigrants in deportation proceedings? This Note suggests that the current extreme hardship standard is an inadequate safeguard against the effective deportation of U.S. citizen children. Instead, the Board should consider that U.S. citizen children have constitutionally-rooted rights to family unity, to opportunity, and to re- main in the United States. These interests should not be delayed merely because of the citizen's age or dependency, or marginalized due to an undocumented parent's culpability. Courts should intentionally reposi- tion U.S. citizen children to be at the center of immigration jurispru- dence given their unique position, acknowledge the important fundamental rights at stake, and recognize that children are autonomous rights-bearing individuals. Under the Mathews v. Eldridge framework, the citizen children's interests require more procedural protection in the removal context than the current extreme hardship standard provides. The current extreme hardship standard frames citizen children as mere bystanders, rather than as citizens with constitutional rights that are directly at stake in their parents' removal proceedings. By providing * B.A., Adelphi University, 2012; Candidate for J.D., Cornell Law School, 2015; Ac- quisitions Editor, Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy, Volume 24. I would like to thank Professor Stephen W. Yale-Loehr for inspiring me to engage with the intricacies of immigra- tion law. I am also grateful to my friends and colleagues on the Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy for their diligent work and thoughtful insight throughout the editing process. Finally, I would like to give my deepest gratitude to my parents, Rajoo and Anna Joseph. My family's story is an immigrant story, and my parents tirelessly sowed the seeds of sacrifice so that I might realize every dream, including this one. Thank you. I Democratic National Convention Address: A Cross of Gold (July 8, 1896) (transcript available at http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/williamjenningsbryanl 896dnc.htm). 209

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