C. Suarez-Orozco Says Child's Role in Mother's Deportation Case Raises Concerns

Source: Chicago Tribune

Seven-year-old Saul Arellano has been used by adult advocates to fight the deportation of his mother back to Mexico. He has traveled to Mexico City and Washington, D.C. in an effort to keep his mother, Elvira, who has taken refuge in a Chicago church, in the United States.

Applied Psychology Chair Carola Suarez-Orozco, who researches the adaptation of immigrant youths, says Saul’s activity in the case “borders on the worrisome.”
 
“He may one day become this wonderful attorney or fabulous advocate, but this is young to be assuming that kind of role,” Suarez-Orozco told the Chicago Tribune. “It is born of desperation, no doubt. The normal balance is that your parents protect you, not the other way around.”