The Social Injustice of the American Child Born to an Immigrant Mother
I recently attended a Maternal Health Summit where presenters and attendees discuss ideas on how to support immigrant families and children born to immigrant mothers. As I pondered on some of the ways I could help, I realized that it was a very emotional topic for me personally. Like many immigrant women, my mother came to the United States to provide a better life for her children. As a researcher in maternal child and women’s health my observation of what is happening today with parents being detained, I can only ponder on the implications for this hurtful and painful action and its effect on a child’s development.
Research indicates that a child’s separation from their parent, when planned or unplanned, can cause significant stress; in some cases it is very traumatizing. I know this first hand because recently my daughter became overly stressed at school because she overheard a conversation about deportation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from a classmate. As a parent I try my best to be transparent. My children are aware that I and their father are both immigrants from Belize. My oldest daughter came home crying asking if her dad and I were going to get deported. The look on her innocent face made me so upset and scared for her as she grows up in this perils of immigration reform in America.
Fortunately for my daughter, we were able to calm her nerves because we let her know that, yes, we are indeed immigrants, but we are in the United States legally so she had no reason to be worried. This, however, is not the case for many American children who go home every day questioning their parents about their immigration status. Recently on the news I saw children crying because their parents were detained at their worksites. One young child worrying about how she would get her next meal or when she would see her father, the family’s breadwinner, again. As an immigrant mother with 3 American children I could never imagine dropping off my children for their first day of school and going to work for the day only to be picked up for deportation. This is a daily heartbreaking reality for many innocent American children born to immigrant mothers.
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Knowing this new reality for many American children, I began looking at a few articles that explored separation around immigration. One study implied that such sudden and unplanned separations could lead to disruption of eating and sleeping habits, sadness, anger, guilt, and anxiety in children (Chaudry et al., 2010). Besides these serious emotional consequences, children often suffer from an instantaneous loss of income, particularly in instances where the primary breadwinner is detained. Other studies implied that subsequent economic instability can have severe consequences to the child’s well-being (Barajas, Philipsen, & Brooks-Gunn, 2008; Leventhal & Brooks-Gunn, 2004). Poverty is associated with a number of negative social conditions, such as inadequate education and delayed cognitive development, which are crucial to success later in life (Ceballo, McLoyd, & Toyokawa, 2004). These poor American children are now in distress overload; they are in fear and being traumatized during the most important stages of development. When compared to their peers they are now most likely to have poorer life outcomes.
Matthew 18:3-6 reads 3 “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. 6 If anyone causes one of these little ones -those who believe in me- to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”
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Children are supposed to be the light of the world. Their innocence bring joy and laughter to our homes. Today, Immigrants are being portrayed as if they are sucking the sweets of America which, in most cases, is absolutely false. The take away from the summit, in my interpretation, is that American children born to immigrant women are at higher risk to be separated from their mothers which is an injustice. It is not okay to do this to the little gifts that God has blessed us with on earth.
As the scriptures implied, those who turn a blind eye or are complicit and causes little ones to stumble will deal with the wrath of our God. Our future is our children and we should not be okay with what is happening today in America. Families should not be torn apart and children should not have to worry about their next meal or when they will see their parents again.
Now let’s hear your thoughts…
If you had the opportunity to work on immigration reform as it relates to separation of families. What would be some suggestions on how we could approach this issue?
Many of the children who’s families are being deported are American. What do you believe will happen to these children as they grow older?
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Dr. Kendra Flores Carter received her Doctor of Social Work Degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Flores-Carter research focuses on maternal child health and women’s mental health. She currently a Co-PI on a multi-site study entitled “Ratings Associated
with Diabetes and Depression”
Dr. Flores-Carter is an active and current member of the ArrowheadRegional Medical Center Institutional Review Board.
34 Comments
If I had the opportunity to work on immigration reform with the separation of families, I am not sure how I would approach this issue. In our country there are many federal laws that all would be difficult to turn over. I do not have any solid suggestions but the information provided in this blog post, and other similar research, could be a start to a conversation on how to approach the issue.
The children who’s families are being deported, as they grow older, I believe could lead to many different ways of life as they grow older. Firstly, I think some children may choose to over come and make a life for themselves in America as their parents would have wanted. Secondly, I also believe that some children as they grow older may be placed with the burden of financially supporting their family that has been deported, which can lead to different crimes in order to get a lot of money in a fast amount of time. Lastly, I believe that these children could end up lost in the foster care system or homeless.
Phenomenal insight into this issue.
I would say the same thing about children growing up who’s families are being deported. I would imagine that the children will grow up having anger or going on the wrong path for themselves. For instance, selling drugs to have a faster way to make money for themselves. On the other hand, children can overcome this hardship and become stronger as they grow older and a life for themselves. Children growing up and having their families deported is a situation that is difficult to handle because children depend on their parents for everything and being a child, they should not have to be worrying about those situation at a young age. This is a topic that can create an emotional break-down and a topic that is dark.
The harsh reality of what will happen to these children who suffer from losing a parent from deportation is that they will endure many hardships in life. They could possibly enter the foster care system, deportation camps, depression or other psychological complications. In addition, as these children grow up they will experience growing up much faster since they lost their parents to an unfortunate issues. Their education, mental health, physical health, and livelyhood are all at risk.
Malia, Thank you for your comment and your insight.
Great post. I feel as if I had the opportunity to work on immigration reform, some ways to address this issue would be to help the children and families associated with it. Hearing about all the children, including your own traumatized thinking that their parents are getting deported is heartbreaking. Being able to help the families who do experience this and the children who are left orphaned due to this deserve the same amount of love and respect that they would if their parent was still here.
Thank you for your comment. I am glad you enjoyed the post.
If I had a chance to work on immigration reform, I would start with a petition to send to congress to change the current policies regarding the separation of families that would prevent children from being separated from their families.
Thanks for your insight Saundra.
Hi Saundra,
I completely understand the frustration. It is so mind boggling to witness how uncaring the system is. My mother immigrated here from Mexico and received her citizenship as a young adult. At that time, many of the laws and regulations that we have today were not implemented. This provided individuals with the opportunity to live a better life, to have freedom; to earn citizenship in the U.S. I cannot imagine myself being taken away from my mother. I pray for these children.
Immigration, a topic many people have strong biased opinions on. Where the public discusses and argues over such, but the problem never gets fixed. Families get torn apart and children become traumatized as they have a lack of security. We need to stop mass deportation. Many believe that this will solve the problem, but this does not even begin to solve the problem. We must look and provide real solutions that are warm-hearted and welcoming. I believe by providing sponsorship, mentoring programs, and classes that rid the community of negative stigmas, the community as a whole can benefit and prosper from this. We can help solve immigration without tearing families apart, which only leads to horrible consequences in the future. As these children will develop neurological damage and lifelong health consequences. These children go through extreme stress, which can very well lead to depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and addition. In result as these children grow older, they may very well have to work through many problems to be able to function normally in society.
Saraha, Thank you for your comment. Giving back to the community is a great way to get involved.
The focus of immigration reform should be to keep families together. The children will be much safer with their parents as opposed to being alone. These children should not have to grow up without the care of their parents. The situation of immigration in the United States is not an easy situation to fix. The goal should be to keep everyone safe regardless of where they come from.
Rebecca, thank you for your comment.
If I were to work for immigration I would want to be able to keep the families together and not have to separate parents from their children. It makes me very sad when parents are taken away from their children and deported. Also, their safety should be a top priority. Children should not have to grow up with their parents. They should have a normal childhood and not have to grow up so fast and take care of themselves.
Keeping families together is definitely ideal.
– There are a couple suggestions that come to mind for an approach to immigration reform as it relates to separation of families. One, I would strongly advise more publicity on the issue. Publicity can be obtained throughout social media itself, thus leading towards expanding awareness on the issue. Arguably, the more the world becomes aware of the hardship’s immigration families are experiencing, the more likely action can be taken into place. Two, movement group formations. Support in numbers strengthens movements, and such would most definitely aid in this immigration reform. Movement groups allow more confident approaches overall to the issue they are seeking to resolve.
– As families of American children are deported, I believe those children will have many difficulties becoming functional adults themselves. Without emotional and financial support from their families, how will the children continue on? I predict there to be higher rates of school dropouts, homelessness, and possibly increased crime rates. These American children will possibly even gain a deep hatred for their home country, being that the US itself is responsible for deporting their families. The children will have no home to live in, and no one to turn to. These children will struggle in many ways as stated, thus calling for stronger action and awareness.
This is such an important topic that has to be discussed. My hometown is actually a sanctuary city, and I think we need more until we have some proper reforms on this topic. I think that people need to consider the seriousness of taking a child from their parents. Of course, depending on these kids, some of them may grow up with depression, anxiety, or other mental health issues. Some of these kids may be inspired to fight the system and fight for their parents, or some of these kids might just grow up with a very difficult life.
Thank you for your comment.
This post really gave me a greater perspective on the effects of immigration on the mind of a child. I have not had this experience personally, however if i had the ability to address the issues of immigration, I would suggest making programs and therapeutic sessions that could potentially help these children accept their situation and to find a positive attitude, regardless of where they came from. This doesn’t mean they should forget who they are or where they came from, it only focuses on the future of these children by understanding what their situation holds for them. Regardless pf where they are from, no child should have to endure this amount of stress.
Tony, providing therapy to children is a great idea. Thank you for your insight.
If I had the opportunity to work on immigration reform, the primary goal would be keeping the families together. Child development relies heavily on external and internal factors, which some can be negatively effected by the deportation of their parents. They may develop psychological issues, such as anxiety and depression, that can effect them throughout life. Children should not have to face this. They should be able to enjoy their childhood without the worry of their parents being deported and left to fend for themselves.
Keeping families together is important. Thank you for your comment.
If I had the opportunity to work on the immigration reform I believe I would need to do more research on my own regarding the current policy to therefore pursue my own suggestion. Though by the knowledge that I do have I would definitely suggest a better approach in how to handle immigration reform just by seeing the what it has produced. This is not okay and I believe children will grow to be resentful towards a country that is supposed to be united.
Celeste, doing further research on the topic and getting involved is a great way to facilitate change. Thank you for your comment.
The situation of immigration and deportation is extremely sensitive. While I am unsure of how to change it, I firmly believe that separating families is not the correct option. As Americans, we should be encouraging the process of citizenship, rather than forcing those out who have made this country their home. Not only does this horrible process destroy the lives of families, but it also does not encourage people to want to seek a better life in America. We should hold ourselves to a higher standard and want to keep families together instead of actively tearing them apart. Everyone deserves a chance at a safe life, and to provide that option for their loved ones. Everyone should be treated like they are wanted, and the act of deportation sends the opposite message.
Additionally, the people who are inforcing and supporting these heartbreaking laws often claim to be Christians. The act of separating families does not spread the light of God and bring people closer to Him. Until immigration reform changes, our main priority should be protecting and offering help to the innocent children who are negatively affected by these horrible acts.
It sounds like the blog really moved you. Thank you for your comment.
This topic is extremely sensitive and emotional. A child should not be worrying about if their parents are going to be deported or worrying about if they will have a meal when they go home. This situation is harsh for many children, but children can response to the situation differently. For instance, children of immigrant parents can be strong for themselves and for their parents and get educated and work hard in their lives. On the other hand, children can drop out of school and start working to help maintain themselves or get into trouble by committing crimes and getting money in a fast way by selling drugs. Overall, as Americans we should encourage each other for citizenship and helping one another to be better human beings in the nation and helping the nation become stronger. This topic is extreme and what is happening today in regard to deporting immigrants is not the way to do it. They should think about the mental health of the children in the long-run and how extremely effective it is for the family of the one being deported.
The topic of immigration reform and how it affects families is complicated and if I was an individual who worked with the topic I’m not sure what the solution would be but I think too often in our society when immigration is discussed it’s talked about from a political and economic point of view which dehumanizes the fact that these are everyday people like you and I that are being dealt with . God is always the best person to turn to and as mentioned we have a duty to help those in need so I believe that there needs to be a system in place to integrate immigrants and their children into american society successfully and not automatically resort to deportation as the first option.
Of course, scary to separate families. But I believe that we need an individual approach to the situation of each family. I understand that this is most likely very difficult to do, but in the interests of the child, it is possible to include this issue in the reform and give the whole family a chance to stay in the country. In some countries, the mother and child are not separated, even if the mother is in prison …
Very great post! It touches on a sensitive topic that people should be more aware of. I myself come from immigrant parents, I am myself an in the process of becoming a citizen and it’s difficult. I have lived the experience you are talking about first hand. I haven’t seen my mother in over 17 years and I am 21 years old. Like other students have mentioned it takes a toll on the children, they face more hardships than your usual individual. The psychology effect is harsh as well. I can only talk from my experience but having my mother being departed from me at a young age affected my mental health and my relationships. Not until I got older did I really focus on all the hardships I went through because of these situations, did I get better.
2. As the daughter of immigrants, this article struck such a chord within me. Topics that typically cover immigrants and people of color always make me emotional and take me deep into my thoughts, and sometimes even my childhood fears. I may not have always had the technicalities of it all down when I was younger, but as I got older and my eyes were more “open” to the world and the realities that immigrants faced, I truly understood how fortunate we were to have our mother and father still with us. The very thought of us being separated sends me into a spiral of questions and worries. At one point in time, my mom was in the process of waiting for her green card; she had overstayed in the Philippines when her step-father passed away and it threatened her chances of being able to stay here with my siblings and I. Again, I was so young, I couldn’t grasp what that would have meant, only that we could potentially be separated from our mom. The technicalities of it all posed for a lot of hurdles and hardships for us. My mom was unable to work because of her lack of green card, so I would have to start working multiple jobs at an early age. It felt like there were so many more obstacles for us than the typical family. I lived in fear, constantly worrying that one day, despite my mom being here legally, they would find some reason to take her away and deport her. Looking back, we were still so fortunate, but it was not without its moments of despair. Imagine not having that opportunity to find a way with your parents? No matter the age, these children losing their parents sets them up for a lower quality of life, for a lack of the same resources and stability that their peers have. That’s just one part of the damage. What about the trauma, the impact on their development during such crucial years? They will end up living in fear, potentially even resenting their parents for something so out of their control, resenting the system and the country their parents risked everything for in order to give them a chance at a future and better life. The effects of this relentless system strips these children of their innocence and purity – it could even strip them of these beautiful futures their parents dreamed of for them. I can never put into words just how sickening it us to see the images, to hear the news, to know that these separations are happening and to know what happens to these kids who end up going into the system. It opens up a world of pain and suffering – mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. This is the last thing God would want for them; how could we possibly turn a blind eye to this, among a list of other social injustices, yet call ourselves “true Christians”. God calls us to see the world for what it is and to show others His love. To show others who He is through our actions and words. If we flip through the pages of the Bible, there are hardly any “orthodox” stories of those redeemed and saved by God’s glory and love. The world cannot be so black and white – justice must be served here. These AMERICAN CHILDREN NEED their parents for even a sliver of the opportunity that those who are privileged and untouched by such tragedies and hardships.
as the son of an immigrant mom this article hits home and I’m glad I was able to read it
as the son of an immigrant mom this article hits home and I’m glad I was able to read it have a good day