Facing Our Future: Children in the Aftermath of Immigration Enforcement

96 Pages·2010·1.2 MB·English

by  Ajay Chaudry

Facing Our Future
Children in the Aftermath of
Immigration Enforcement
AjayChaudry
F Randy Capps
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O Rosa MariaCastañeda
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2100 MStreet,NW
Washington,DC20037
ph 202.833.7200
fax [phone]
http://www.urban.org

Facing Our Future
Children in the Aftermath of
Immigration Enforcement
Ajay Chaudry
Randy Capps
Juan Manuel Pedroza
Rosa Maria Castañeda
Robert Santos
Molly M. Scott
February 2010
The Urban Institute
Copyright©2010.TheUrbanInstitute.Allrightsreserved.Exceptforshortquotes,nopartofthisreport
maybereproducedorusedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronicormechanical,includingphoto-
copying,recording,orbyinformationstorageorretrievalsystem,withoutwrittenpermissionfromthe
UrbanInstitute.
TheUrbanInstituteisanonprofit,nonpartisanpolicyresearchandeducationalorganizationthatexam-
inesthesocial,economic,andgovernanceproblemsfacingthenation.Theviewsexpressedarethoseof
theauthorsandshouldnotbeattributedtotheUrbanInstitute,itstrustees,oritsfunders.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ..........................................................v
ExecutiveSummary ........................................................vii
1. Introduction .............................................................1
2. TheSeparationofParentsandChildrenFollowingImmigrationEnforcement ...13
3. TheEffectsofImmigrationEnforcementonFamilyWell-Being ................27
4. ConsequencesforChildren:ChildBehaviors,Changes,andAdjustments.......41
5. CommunityResponsestoRaidsandOtherArrests ..........................55
6. FacingOurFuture:ConclusionsandRecommendations ......................69
iii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
T
heauthorsofthisstudyareUrbanInstituteresearchersAjayChaudry,JuanManuelPedroza,RosaMariaCastañeda,
RobertSantos,andMollyM.ScottandRandyCappsoftheMigrationPolicyInstitute.Theviewsandconclusions
includedhereinarethoseoftheauthorsalone,anddonotnecessarilyreflecttheopinionsoftheproject’sfunders,
theUrbanInstitute,oritsfunders.
Theauthorsareespeciallygratefultotheparentsand reviewedearlierdraftsofthereport.Inaddition,theauthors
familymembersinGrandIsland,Nebraska,Miami,Florida, thankthemanyindividualswhoreviewedthereport,
NewBedford,Massachusetts,Postville,Iowa,VanNuys, includingDonaldHernandez,HunterCollegeandthe
California,andRogers-Springdale,Arkansas,whoshared CUNYGraduateCenter,DepartmentofSociology;Bill
theirexperienceswithus.Inaddition,theauthorswouldlike OngHing,ProfessorofLawandAsianAmericanStudies,
tothankstaffatthemanyorganizationsinthesesiteswho UniversityofCalifornia,Davis,SchoolofLaw;Donald
helpedtheresearchteammeetkeycommunitycontactsas Kerwin,VicePresidentattheMigrationPolicyInstitute;
wellasparentsandothercaregiversinthestudysites. KathleenMoccio,ConsultingAttorneyforDorsey&
Withouttheirassistance,thestudywouldnothavebeenpos- WhitneyLLP;andCarolaSuárez-Orozco,Professorof
sible.Inparticular,theauthorswouldliketoacknowledge AppliedPsychology,NewYorkUniversity,Steinhardt
staffattheNationalCouncilofLaRazaandtheiraffiliates; SchoolofCulture,Education,andHumanDevelopment.
St.Bridget’sCatholicChurch inPostville andLuther Theauthorswouldalsoliketoacknowledgetheassis-
Collegein Decorah,Iowa; the EconomicOpportunity tanceofanumberofUrbanInstituteresearchersduringthe
AgencyofWashingtonCountyandLegalAidofArkansas project.MollyHawkins,AdamKent,KatieMathews,and
inNorthwestArkansas;theCoalitionforHumane JenniferPelletierprovidedvaluableassistanceduringdata
ImmigrantRightsofLosAngeles;theFloridaImmigrant collectionandediting.ElysaBaronandCelesteChaves
AdvocacyCenter andtheSant-LaHaitianNeighborhood workeddiligentlyoncompletingtranscriptionsofproject
Center,FanmAyisyenNanMiyami,CatholicLegalServices interviews,andMurielGermeilprovidedvaluableCreole-
andNotreDamed’HaitiCatholicChurchinMiami,Florida; Englishtranslationandinterpretationservices.
CatholicSocialServicesandOurLadyofGuadalupeparishof Finally,theauthorsacknowledgethegeneroussupport
St.JamesChurchinNewBedford,Massachusetts;andGreater oftheproject’sfunders.Thisreportwasmadepossibleby
BostonLegalServicesandtheMassachusettsImmigrantand thesupportoftheFoundationforChildDevelopment,
RefugeeAdvocacyCoalitioninBoston,Massachusetts. Carnegie CorporationofNewYork,theW.K. Kellogg
TheauthorsthanktheAdvisoryGroupfortheproject Foundation,thePeppercornFoundation,theA.L.
fortheirsupportindesigningthestudy.OliviaGolden, Mailman FamilyFoundation,andtheAnnieE.Casey
RobinHarwood,andHeatherSeeoftheUrbanInstitute Foundation.
v

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
T
heUnitedStatesisengagedinanintensedebateaboutimmigrationpolicy,particularlywithregardtounauthorized
immigrants.DebatesrageabouttheeconomiccontributionsofimmigrantstotheU.S.economy,jobcompetition,tax
paymentsandfiscalcosts,andtheintegrationofimmigrantsincommunitiesandthelargersociety.Largelyabsentfrom
thediscussionarethechildrenofimmigrants.Todaythereareanestimated5.5millionchildrenwithunauthorizedimmigrant
parents,aboutthree-quartersofwhomareU.S.-borncitizens.Thenationbuildsitsownfuturebyinvestinginthefuturesof
children,spendingbillionsofdollarsannuallyoneducationandhealthcare,preventingabuseandneglect,andsupporting
whennecessarytheirbasicneedsforhousingandfood.Yet,unlikeotherchildreninthiscountry,thechildrenofunauthorized
immigrantslivewiththefearthattheirparentsmightbearrested,detained,ordeported.Thefederalgovernmentspendsbil-
lionseachyeartoarrest,detain,anddeportimmigrants,manyofwhomareparents.Byoneestimate,inthelast10years,over
100,000immigrantparentsofU.S.citizenchildrenhavebeendeportedfromtheUnitedStates.
Thisreportexaminestheconsequencesofparentalarrest, Worksite Arrests and Other Forms
detention,anddeportationon190childrenin85families of Enforcement in Our Study Sites
insixlocationsacrossthecountry.Buildingonour2007
Oursiteselectioncapturedarangeofcommunitycharacter-
reportPayingthePrice:TheImpactofImmigrationRaidson
isticsandenforcementcircumstances.Fourofoursix
America’sChildren,thecurrentstudydocumentstheeffects
studysitesexperiencedlarge-scaleworksiteraidsbyU.S.
onthesechildrenaftertheirparentswerearrestedinwork-
ImmigrationandCustomsEnforcement(ICE)agents.One
siteraids,raidsontheirhomes,oroperationsbylocal
siteinvolvedarrestsinhomesandotherlocationsbyICE
policeofficers.Weresearchedimpactsonchildreninthe
FugitiveOperationTeams(FOTs),whichseekimmigrants
daysandweeksafterparentalarrests,intheintermediate
withoutstandingdeportationordersorwhohavecommit-
andlongtermwhileparentsweredetainedorcontested
tedimmigration-relatedcrimes.Thesixthsiteincluded
theirdeportation,andinsomecases,afterparentswere
arrestsofimmigrantsintheirhomesandworkplacesaswell
deported.
asonthestreetbylocalpoliceofficerstrainedtoenforcefed-
Weinterviewedarrestedparentsortheirspousesshortly
(2to5months)afterarrest,inthelongterm(9to13months eralimmigrationlawsunderthe287(g)program—so
afterarrest),andsometimestwice,bothshortlyafterarrest namedforthesectionofU.S.immigrationlawthatauthor-
andinthelongterm.Weusedsemi-structuredprotocols izesit.
thatincludedstandardizedassessmentsofchildbehavior, Twooftheworksiteraidsites—GrandIsland,Nebraska,
parentalmentalhealth,familyfoodsufficiency,housing andNewBedford,Massachusetts—wereincludedinour
characteristics,andotherconditions.Wealsointerviewed earlierstudy,PayingthePrice.Forthecurrentstudywe
communityrespondentsineachsite,includingpublicoffi- conductedinterviewswithaffectedfamiliesandcommunity
cials,teachers,socialworkers,attorneys,consularofficials, interviewsmorethanayearaftertheraids.Theothertwo
andstaffatcommunityorganizations.Ourstudypopula- worksiteraidsitesthatwestudied—VanNuys,California,
tionsincludedimmigrantfamiliesmostlyfromMexico, andPostville,Iowa—experiencedraidsinthefirsthalfof
Guatemala,ElSalvador,andHaiti.Werecruitedfamilies 2008.Inthesesitesweinterviewedfamiliesandconducted
toreflectarangeofcircumstancesandexperiences. communityinterviewstwice—in2008,acoupleofmonths
vii
aftertheraids,andagainin2009aboutayearlater.Thefour mostcommonchangeinfamilystructurethatresultedfrom
sitesincludedbetween100and400arrestseach,which parentseparationfollowingarrestwasthattwo-parentfami-
receivedconsiderablemediaattentionandresultedincom- liesbecamesingle-parentfamilies,althoughinafewcases
munity-wideresponses. childrenstayedwithotherrelativesorfriendsforan
Ourothertwostudysitesinvolvedsmallernumbersof extendedperiodwheneitherasingleparentorboth
arrestsoverlongtimespans,andthesearrestsreceivedless parentsweredetained.
mediaattentionandweakercommunityresponses.We BetweenthetimeoftheearlierworksiteraidsinGrand
visitedMiamiinDecember2008,whereweinterviewed IslandandNewBedfordandthe2008VanNuysand
Haitianfamiliesthathadaparentarrestedathomeorin Postvilleworksiteraids,ICEissuedhumanitarianguidelines
anothersettingbyICEFOTsduringtheprevioustwoyears. forlarge-scaleworksiteraids,whichmandatedreleaseofsin-
About30,000ofthemorethan500,000immigrantson gleparentsandthosewithneedychildren.Theseguidelines
ICE’sfugitivelistareHaitian;manyofthisgroupapplied reducedthefrequencyoffamilyseparation,especiallyin
forasylumandwererejected,oroverstayedavalidvisa.Our theVanNuysraid.Theapplicationofanklebraceletswith
sixthsitewasRogers-SpringdaleinNorthwestArkansas, trackingdevicesallowedICEtocontinuetomonitorarrestees
whichwevisitedinMay2008,sixmonthsafterthelocal withoutrequiringdetention.Thisclearlywasabetterout-
policesigned287(g)agreementswithICEtoenforce comefromthefamilies’pointofview,thoughparentsfaced
immigrationlaws.Policescreenedimmigrantsinthe somestigmaandsomeotherdifficultieswhilewearingthe
countyjailsfortheirlegalstatusandconductedanumber anklebracelets.Yet,inPostville—wheremanyparentswere
ofoperationsinthecommunity—includingraidson alsochargedcriminallyforidentitytheft—andinthenon-
homes,roadblockstocheckdrivers’licenses,trafficstops worksitearrestsinMiamiandRogers-Springdale,children
forminoroffenses,andaraidonalocalMexicanrestau- facedprolongedseparationsfromatleastoneparentina
rantchain.Morethan400immigrantswerearrestedin majorityofcases.
thissix-monthperiod. Inthelongterm,atleast20familiesinourstudyexpe-
riencedthedeportationofaparentandwereforcedto
confrontpainfuldecisionsaboutwhetherchildrenwould
Findings
leavethecountrywiththedeportedparentorremaininthe
Thechildreninthestudyexperiencedseverechallenges, UnitedStateswitheithertheotherparentoranotherrela-
includingseparationsfromparentsandeconomichardships tive.Ineightofthesefamilies,someorallofthechildren
thatlikelycontributedtoadversebehavioralchangesthat wentwithoneorbothparentstotheparents’countriesof
parentsreported. origin,andin12cases,childrenremainedintheUnited
States,separatedfromoneoftheirparents.Thewholefam-
FamilySeparation ilylefttojointhedeportedparentinsomeofthesecases,
whileinotherstheparentsandsiblingsweresplitbetween
Parent-childseparationsposeseriousriskstochildren’s countries.Ourtimeframewasnotlongenoughtoassessthe
immediatesafety,economicsecurity,well-being,andlonger- impactsonchildrenwhofacedseparationsfollowingdepor-
termdevelopment.Suchseparationswerecommoninour tationor,inmostcases,toknowtheultimateoutcome
study,thoughforamajorityofchildrenatleastoneparent regardingdeportationsandlonger-termseparations.Finally,
wasabletoremain,eitherbecausetheywerenotarrestedor inafewcases,parentsreturnedillegallytotheUnitedStates
becausetheywerereleasedundersupervision.Abouthalfof tobereunitedwiththeirchildrenandfamilies.Thereturn
thefamilieshadparentsreleasedonthedayoftheirarrest, journeyswererough,andoneparentdiedthedayafterhe
oftenwithelectronicmonitoringdevices(EMDs)affixed wasreunitedwithhisfamily.
totheirankles.Inmanycasesparentsweredetainedforan
extendedperiodfollowingtheirarrests,includingnearlya
FamilyEconomicHardship
quarterwhereaparentwasdetainedformorethanamonth
andahandfulwhereseparationslastedmorethansix Mostfamiliesinoursamplelostaworkingparent,because
months,thoughoursamplelikelyunderrepresentsthesecases theyweredetained,deported,orreleasedbutnotallowed
becausewecouldnotinterviewparentsindetention.The towork.Followingjobloss,householdsexperiencedsteep
viii