Immigration Views on Nick News

There are more than three million American-born kids of undocumented immigrants living in the United States. The kids are Americans citizens, but their parents are not. The Emmy award-winning series Nick News with Linda Ellerbee delves into the lives of Mexican-American kids trapped in a political situation they didn’t cause and can’t fix — in I’m American! They’re Not!, premiering Sunday, Mar. 16, at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on Nickelodeon.

“These kids can’t be forced to leave the U.S., but their parents can be. Imagine living in fear of your parents being caught and deported,” asks Ellerbee. “Or your parents get deported, but you stay — without parents. Or your parents get deported and you go with them, leaving your home, your country and the only life you’ve ever known. Kids, American citizens, are dealing with these issues every day.”

In I’m American! They’re Not!, viewers meet a young girl, an American-born citizen whose parents are living illegally in the U.S. She and her brothers and sister live life in the shadows. There’s also Iven and Noe, brothers whose parents have been caught and deported. Their parents have taken Iven and Noe back to Viscaino, Mexico, with them. The brothers miss their home in San Jose, California. Lastly, viewers meet 13-year-old Paola, 14-year-old Vanessa, and 17-year-old Nahun, three siblings whose parents were deported to Mexico last year, while they remained in the U.S. without them. A family friend acts as their legal guardian; however, the kids are living by themselves.

In the special, Miriam Calderón, who works for the National Council of La Raza, which commissioned the report Paying the Price: The Impact of Immigration Raids on America’s Children, speaks about the disruptions immigration raids are causing in families.