Which is why I wrote "We have a tremendous number of American national players with Latin American roots that are not in the US Soccer structure because of a variety of reasons that range from depressed socioeconomic status to avoidance of the system for legal reasons." There isn't just one reason the US Soccer is not successful in getting these players into Federation affiliated programs (the point of the article the OP posted).
My comments come from conversations with Cal South specifically regarding challenges Cal South faces in getting the approximately 100,000+ players and coaches in the SoCal Mexican Leagues into Cal South/US Youth Soccer and from personal experiences sponsoring the children of immigrant families. The challenges are not singular, but many. Cost is a challenge for many. Undocumented status is a challenge for some (about 10%). The vast majority of undocumented immigrants are hard working and law abiding people (except for that immigration problem).
Last fall I arranged for 5 Hispanic youth players to play in a local recreational league (cost was $85/kid). I watched these kids all play soccer every day after school at a nearby field. They ranged in ages from 6 to 12 (brothers, cousins, friends). After watching these kids playing almost everyday for about a month while taking my kid to club practices, I approached and asked if they were going to sign up for the local recreational league and all but one said they couldn't. "Why?" "My parents can't afford it." Next day I made arrangements with the recreational league and handed each one the "US Youth Soccer" application and told them it they had a scholarship to play for free, but that I needed the applications back before the end of the week as registration was closing. I got back 3. When I asked about the other 2, I was told by one of the kids that they were brothers and the parents would not sign the papers because they (parents and kids) were not here legally. We (5 kids) and I walked to the "brothers" trailer (nearby trailer park) and thus began my negotiation. Long story short, through my 12 year old interpreter , I successfully got the 2 brothers registered by having the mom sign the application and listing address for the parent/guardian as the 12 year old's address/trailer. If I didn't game the application/system, these 2 kids would not have played the fall.
Now, my anecdotal evidence may be just an exception and I found the only 2 undocumented kids in SoCal with parents that refused to sign up their kids because Cal South requires a written application with their names and address. I doubt it because I have been told by Cal South that my personal experience is not unique. In addition, my work with youth recreational clubs and leagues over the years has told me that there are many families with illegal parents that distrust the system and avoid signing up their kids in youth sports.
Bottom line, there are many challenges bringing Hispanic youth soccer players into US Soccer affiliated programs. Undocumented status is just 1 of those challenges, so is, cost, travel, working burdens, etc.
