Running head: THE IMPACT OF IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT ON CHILDREN 1

The Impact of Immigration Enforcement on Children

Ashley Gonzalez

Columbia School of Social Work

Policy Practice II

Spring 2015
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INTRODUCTION

The topic of this paper is the negative impact of immigration enforcement on

children. While the precise number of children affected is unknown, as of 2011, the

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is required to document the number

of parents of U.S. citizen children removed each year. Records state that in 2013,

72,410 individuals deported said they had one or more U.S. born children.1

Considering the total number of 368, 644 removals in FY 2013,2 this data fits the

best available estimate that one in five people removed from the United States are

parents of U.S. citizen children.3 However, these numbers do not include parents of

undocumented or Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) children, or parents who were

detained, but not deported. While the impact on children is often ignored, an

estimated 5.5 million children reside with at least one undocumented parent, and

4.5 million of these children are U.S. citizens.4 No official data is kept on what

happens to children after their parents are deported, but it is known that some are

expatriated, others remain in the United States—but with one less parent—and

some end up in foster care.

While research is limited, studies have shown that when parents are either

detained or deported, the well-being of their children is negatively impacted. This

paper will look further into what research is out there, as well as identify any gaps

1 Foley, Elise. “Deportation Separated Thousands of U.S.-Born Children From Parents In 2013.”Huffington Post 25 June 2014.
Retrieved from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/25/parents-deportation_n_5531552.html
2 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (2013). FY 2013 ICE Immigration Removals: ERO Annual Report. Washington, D.C.

Available at: http://www.ice.gov/doclib/about/offices/ero/pdf/2013-ice-immigration-removals.pdf

3 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Deportation of Parents of U.C. Citizen Children July 1, 2010- September 30, 2013.

Accessed by Colorlines.com on December 12, 2012. http://colorlines.com/archives/2012/12/deportations_of_parents_of_us-

born_citizens_122012.html
4 Migration Policy Institute. (2013). Unauthorized immigrant parents and their children’s development: A summary of the

evidence. Washington, DC: Yoshikawa, H., & Kholoptseva, J. Retrieved from:

http://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/unauthorized-immigrant-parents-and-their-childrens-development
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in information. Currently, ICE officials can practice prosecutional discretion in

deciding whether or not to arrest, detain, or deport an individual, and one thing they

may consider is whether or not an individual has a U.S. citizen or Legal Permanent

Resident (LPR) child. While discretion could have a significant impact, research

indicates that discretion has been used inconsistently.5 According to one report, a

greater understanding of the impact of removing a parent from the home would

better prepare immigration officials to adequately weigh the needs of children.6 By

integrating these children into the immigration discourse, practitioners and

policymakers will be better able to understand the effects of immigration

enforcement, reduce harm to children, and provide for the protection of their rights.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Despite the growing number of children affected by immigration

enforcement policies, limited research has investigated how these policies affect

their health and well-being. Given the shortage of research on the topic, one way to

discern the effects of immigration enforcement has been to consider partially

analogous situations, such as parental incarceration and separation due to family

migration patterns.

5 Applied Research Center. (2011). Shattered families: The perilous intersection of immigration enforcement and the child
welfare system. New York, NY: Wessler, S. Retrieved from:
http://www.atlanticphilanthropies.org/sites/default/files/uploads/ARC_Report_Shattered_Families_FULL_REPORT_Nov2011
Release.pdf
6 Baum, J., Jones, R., & Barry, C. (2010). In the child’s best interest? The consequences of losing a lawful immigrant parent to

deportation. International Human Rights Clinic: University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. Retrieved from:
https://www.law.berkeley.edu/files/Human_Rights_report.pdf
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The most rigorous studies on parental incarceration show that it is

associated with higher risk for children's antisocial behavior, such as aggression.7,8

When a child is present during the arrest, the experience is more traumatizing, and

Jose-Kampfner (1995)9 found that children who witness their mother’s arrest suffer

nightmares and flashbacks to the arrest incident. The management of the

explanation also impacts the child’s ability to cope. If faced with uncertainty and a

lack of information about their parent’s incarceration, children are more anxious

and fearful (Johnson, 1995).10 The same was found in a migration study where early

adolescents had been separated from one or both parents for extended periods, and

critical to coping was how the child understood the separation.11 This is crucial

considering that immigration arrest can happen at any time, and once in ICE

custody, an individual has no way of knowing where they will be detained or for

how long. Another study has theorized that unauthorized status itself creates a

sense of uncertainty—or “liminality”—and this feeling can negatively impact the

socio-emotional development of youth growing up with undocumented parents.12

In addition to research on incarceration and migration, the literature review

revealed four studies on the impact of immigration enforcement on children. These

7 Murray, J., Farrington, D.P., & Sekol, I. (2012). Children’s antisocial behavior, mental health, drug use, and educational
performance after parental incarceration: A systematic review and meta-analysis. American Psychological Association, 138(2),
175-210. Retrieved from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3283435/
8 These findings are also in line with: Geller, A., Cooper, C.E., Garfinkel, I., Schwartz-Soicher, O., & Mincy, R.B. (2012). Beyond

absenteeism: Father incarceration and child development. Demography, 49(1), 49-76. Retrieved from:
http://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:9843
9 As cited in: Parke, R., & Clarke-Stewart, K.A. (2002). Effects of parental incarceration on young children. Papers prepared for

the “From Prison to Home” Conference. Retrieved from: http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/prison2home02/parke&stewart.pdf

10 Ibid.
11 Suarez-Orozco, C., Todorova, I.L.G, & Louie, J. (2002). Making up for lost time: The experience of separation and reunification

among immigrant families. Family Process, 41(4), 625-643. Retrieved from:

https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/scmsAdmin/uploads/004/295/Family%20Process%202002.pdf
12 Suárez-Orozco, C., Yoshikawa, H., Teranishi, R.T., & Suárez-Orozco, M.M. (2011). Growing up in the shadows: The

developmental implications of unauthorized status. Harvard Educational Review, 81(3), 438-472. Retrieved from:
http://hepg.org/her-home/issues/harvard-educational-review-volume-81-number-3/herarticle/the-developmental-
implications-of-unauthorized-sta
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studies are summarized in two tables (see Figures 1 & 2), and their results are

discussed in more detail.

The most cited study on the subject was conducted by the Urban Institute in

2010.13 Examining the direct consequences of parental detention and deportation,

the study found that parent-child separations negatively impact children’s economic

security, well-being, and longer-term development. Most families lost a working

parent either because they were detained, or released but not allowed to work.

Following job loss, household income dropped, which affected housing and food

stability. Children also experienced many behavioral changes, and in the short-term

about two-thirds of children experienced changes in eating and sleeping habits,

more than half cried more often and were more afraid, and more than a third were

more anxious, withdrawn, clingy, angry, or aggressive. These behavioral changes

were still widespread more than six months after the arrests, and children who saw

their parents arrested in home raids experienced even greater changes. Some

parents of young children (under 6 years old) reported changes in their children’s

development and speech patterns. Lastly, school performance was affected, as

grades slipped and some students experienced behavioral changes in the classroom.

In another qualitative study, Dreby (2012)14 interviewed children and

parents from Mexican immigrant households, all with varying levels of experience

13 Chaudry, A., Capps, R., Pedroza, J.M., Castañeda, R.M., Santos, R., & Scott, M.M. (2010). Facing our future: Children in the
aftermath of immigration enforcement. Washington, D.C.: Published by The Urban Institute. Retrieved from:
http://www.urban.org/publications/412020.html. This report builds on their 2007 report, Paying the Price: The Impact of
Immigration Raids on America’s Children, which for sake of redundancy is not included in this paper.
14 Dreby, J. (2012). The burden of deportation on children in Mexican immigrant families. Journal of marriage and family, 74,

829-845. DOI:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2012.00989.x
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Figure 1. Existing Studies of Impacts on Children of Immigration Enforcement

Brabeck & Xu
Chaudry et al. (2010) Dreby (2012) Allen et al. (2015)
(2010)
Type Qualitative Qualitative Quantitative Quantitative
190 children, 85 91 parents, 110
Sample Size 95 parents of children 132 parents
families children
Parents & community
Interviewed Parents & children Parents Parents
members
Ages of Children 0-17 5-15 6-12 0-18
Legal Status of
66.3% born in U.S. 64.5% born in U.S. 87% born in U.S. 73.5% born in U.S.
Children
Guatemala,
Mexico, Guatemala, El Colombia,
Parent Country of Mexico, Guatemala, El
Mexico Salvador, Colombia, Dominican Republic,
Origin Salvador, Haiti
Nicaragua El Salvador, Mexico,
Honduras
One-on-one interviews One-on-one
Instruments/Methods with semi-structured interviews with semi- Standardized survey Standardized survey
protocols structured protocols
NE, MA, CA, IA, FL, & Metropolitan areas
Location of Study OH & NJ TX
AR in NE region of U.S.
Direct & indirect Direct & indirect Direct & indirect
Experience with Parents arrested by ICE experience with experience with experience with
Enforcement & at least 20 deported detainment or detainment or detainment or
deportation deportation deportation
Nonrandom sampling,
Nonrandom
no child self-report Nonrandom sampling,
sampling, no child
measures, Nonrandom sampling, no child self-report
Limitations self-report
underrepresentation of cross-sectional measures, cross-
measures, cross-
parents in long-term sectional
sectional
detention or deported

Figure 2. Summary of Impacts from Existing Studies

Brabeck & Xu
Chaudry et al. (2010) Dreby (2012) Allen et al. (2015)
(2010)
“existence of
Job & income loss, deportation affects
Economic Hardship housing instability, Economic instability NA my ability to provide
food hardship financially for my
children”
“existence of
Family deportation effects
NA Family dissolution NA
Relationships my relationship with
my child”
Eating & sleeping,
nightmares & Externalizing (e.g.,
sleepwalking, crying, Emotional, distress of aggression, conduct “existence of
Behavioral Changes fear & anxiety, clinging separation, fear of problems) & deportation effects
& attachment, separation internalizing (e.g., how my child feels”
withdrawing, anxiety, depression)
aggression & rebellion
Speech difficulties,
Developmental regression in
NA NA NA
Changes independent skills (e.g.,
feeding, dressing)
“existence of
Missed days, behavior
deportation effects
School Performance problems, declining NA NA
how my child
grades
performs in school”
Associating
immigration with
Stigma & Shame NA NA NA
illegality, denial of
immigrant heritage
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with immigration enforcement. Starting with families in which a parent had been

detained or deported, children experienced negative economic and emotional

consequences. In families with no direct experience with immigration enforcement,

children experienced fears of separation at the threat of deportation, regardless of

their own legal status. Children also demonstrated a widespread conflation between

immigration and illegality, a confusion that could be harmful for their development

and sense of self. It is this kind of indirect consequence that affects the greatest

number of children, and to capture both the direct and indirect impact of

enforcement policies, Dreby (2012) suggests using a deportation pyramid (see

Figure 3). In this conceptual model, the highest point reflects the greatest

consequence, but the least number of children affected.

The literature review also revealed two quantitative reports. In the first

report, Brabeck & Xu (2010)15 explored the impact of deportation on Latino

immigrant families. In addition to demographic variables, the final survey measured

parent legal vulnerability, the impact of deportation on family environment, and the

impact of deportation on child well-being. The measurement for child well-being

consisted of two elements: (1) parents’ perceptions of child’s emotional well-being

in the context of deportation, and (2) parents’ perceptions of child’s academic

performance in the context of deportation. To measure family environment,

participants were asked to respond to the following statements: 1) the existence of

deportation affects my ability to provide financially for my children, 2) the existence

15Brabeck, K.M., & Xu, Q. (2010). The impact of detention and deportation on Latino immigrant children and families. Faculty
Publications, paper 262. Retrieved from: http://digitalcommons.ric.edu/facultypublications/262
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Figure 3. A Deportation Pyramid to Assess the Burden of Deportation Policies on Children16

Note. Reprinted from Dreby, J. (2012). The burden of deportation on children in Mexican immigrant families. Journal of
16

marriage and family, 74, 829-845. DOI:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2012.00989.x

THE IMPACT OF IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT ON CHILDREN 9

of deportation affects how I feel, and 3) the existence of deportation affects my

relationship with my child. The measure for legal vulnerability assessed legal status,

as well as direct experience with detention or deportation. Results indicated that

parents with higher levels of legal vulnerability report a greater impact of

detention/deportation on family environment and child well-being.

In the second quantitative study, Allen et al. (2015)17 assessed the impact of

parental deportation using psychometrically reliable and valid assessment

instruments. The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; Achenbach and Rescorla 2001)

was used, utilizing the Externalizing (e.g., aggression, conduct problems) and

Internalizing (e.g., depression, anxiety) composite scores. The study also controlled

for other traumatic events not directly related to parental deportation using the

UCLA PTSD Reaction Index (UCLA-PTSD-RI; Steinberg et al. 2004). Results indicated

that children with a deported parent are significantly more likely to display

externalizing and internalizing problems than children whose parents are not

deported or in the process of deportation.

DISCUSSION

While analyzing the current immigration system is beyond the scope of this

paper, it bears to keep in mind that children are suffering the collateral

consequences of a system meant to punish their parents, and it is crucial that these

harmful consequences inform immigration policy and practice. The following

17Allen, B., Cisneros, E.M., & Tellez, A. (2015). The children left behind: The impact of parental deportation on mental health.
Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24(2), 386-392. DOI: 10.1007/s10826-013-9848-5
THE IMPACT OF IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT ON CHILDREN 10

discussion will briefly go over the state of current policy and give recommendations

for the future.

Overview of recent policy:

In response to congressional inaction on immigration, President Obama

announced a series of executive orders on November 20, 2014. These orders include

a new Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) program, under which

the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will not be deporting certain

undocumented parents of U.S. citizens and LPRs. Parents with undocumented

children are not protected, and to be eligible, an individual must not have been

convicted of certain criminal offenses, including any felonies and some

misdemeanors.18 Since it is an executive order—not a law passed by Congress—the

relief from deportation is only temporary.

Another key part of the administrative action is that President Obama is

ending Secure Communities, replacing it with the Priority Enforcement Plan (PEP).

PEP will set new priority levels for deportation, focusing on border apprehensions,

immigrants with felony convictions, and those that “pose a danger to national

security.”19 However, previous ICE memos have also focused on the removal of

serious criminal offenders, but data through 2012 shows that offenses range from

violent crimes to traffic violations.20 Consequently, many non-citizens, including

18 Immigration Policy Center. (2014). A guide to the immigration accountability executive action. Washington, DC. Retrieved
from: http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/special-reports/guide-immigration-accountability-executive-action
19 National Immigration Law Center. (2014). Frequently asked questions administrative immigration relief 2014-15: Immigration

enforcement. Los Angeles, CA. Retrieved from: http://www.nilc.org/adminreliefenforcement.html

20 Zayas, L.H., & Bradlee, M.H. (2014). Exiling children, creating orphans: When immigration policies hurt citizens. Social Work,

59(2), 167-175. Retrieved from: http://sw.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2014/04/08/sw.swu004

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LPRs, may continue to be prioritized for deportation based on minor crimes,

regardless of their parental status.

Update as of March 23, 2015: A federal judge in the Southern

District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction in State of Texas, et al v. United

States, et al., temporarily blocking the implementation of DAPA. This court order

does not affect new enforcement priorities under PEP. See the official USCIS website

for updates: http://www.uscis.gov/immigrationaction.

Recommendations:

Considering that President Obama’s executive orders are temporary and may

still leave many parents facing deportation, other actions must be taken. Barring

legislative reform, more research should be commissioned to document the impact

of immigration enforcement policies on children. Scholars have recognized the

shortage of research and called for more studies that explore the short and long-

term consequences of enforcement policies. Most of the studies have been cross-

sectional, and longitudinal studies are needed to document child risk and protective

factors over time. Further research should include any indirect consequences, such

as the fear of living under the constant threat of deportation, and it should also

document how the explanation of parental detainment/deportation is managed.

This research could be used to advocate for better policies and laws down

the road. In the meantime, research can be used to increase awareness among

immigration judges and prosecutors. A greater understanding of the effect of

removing a parent from the home will better prepare decision-makers to balance
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the needs of children against the interest of the government. Like all other

enforcement agencies, DHS has prosecutorial discretion and can decide when not to

carry out its enforcement authority in a particular case.21 In some instances, a

favorable grant of prosecutorial discretion may be the only avenue available to a

non-citizen seeking relief from deportation. When advocating for prosecutional

discretion, defense attorneys often put together a package of materials supporting

their request. Credible evidence on the impact of enforcement on children could

become a standard component, and the better informed immigration officials are on

the impact of separation on children, the more influential these materials will be.

CONCLUSION

This paper has looked at the negative impact of immigration enforcement

policies on children. The research on analogous situations, as well as the four

empirical studies on detention and deportation, all point to similar conclusions—

mainly that enforcement policies cause increased distress among children. Given the

current evidence, it is vital that immigration policies consider the needs of children

whose parents are at risk for deportation. Barring greater legislative reform, more

research should be conducted to inform future advocacy efforts, as well as to

promote prosecutional discretion among immigration officials.

21 Immigration Policy Center. (2015). Prosecutional discretion: How to advocate for your client. Washington, DC. Retrieved
from: http://www.legalactioncenter.org/sites/default/files/pd_overview_final.pdf
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