III. Number of Children Affected
U
nderstanding the scope of the impact of worksite enforcement actions on children and families requires data or estimates of the number of children potentially and actually affected. Unfortunately, there are no hard numbers on
the undocumented population, as it is largely clandestine and difficult to survey; data on the number of ICE arrestees with children are also lacking. Absent such exact data, this section draws on two of the best available sources: national survey data from the U.S. Current Population Survey (CPS), and data obtained during the course of the study’s three site visits. Nationally, there are almost five million children with at least one undocumented parent, and about half as many children as undocumented working-age adults. From the site visits, the best available information suggests that at least 506 children were directly affected by the arrest of at least one parent. This is more than half of the total number of arrestees (912).
NATIONAL ESTIMATES OF THE NUMBER UNDOCUMENTED FAMILIES
OF
CHILDREN
IN
While employer enforcement actions may deter the employment of undocumented adults, the unavoidable consequences of such actions include putting the well-being of children at risk. Nationally, about half of all working-age undocumented adults have at least one child. On average, one child is likely to be affected for every two workers arrested, if the demographics of undocumented workers arrested match the national data.
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