Paying the Price: The Impact of Immigration Raids on America’s Children
did not have driver’s licenses and did not know how to drive. They were unaccustomed to making basic financial decisions and did not have access to husbands’ bank accounts. Some women rarely left the house, even before the raids. For these women, the loss of their husbands represented not only the loss of a partner and breadwinner, but also a loss of direction and increased isolation. Following the raid, some of these Guatemalan mothers were left isolated, afraid, and unable to make the basic decisions about daily life that their husbands had often made before the raid. By the time of the study interviews in Greeley and Grand Island – some five to six months after the raids – almost all of the arrestees had been deported or released from detention. In some of these cases, the second parent had been released and reunited with the family temporarily. In cases where the parent was deported, some families hoped that the
IMPLICATIONS Single-parent families are the most vulnerable following
deported parent might be able to return illegally or were in the process
immigration enforcement
of moving to rejoin the parent abroad. In New Bedford, a majority of
operations that result in arrests.
arrestees remained in detention at the time of the study visit, about two
Often, these families are
months after the raid. Thus, family separation caused by detention and
already fragile, and the loss of
deportation generally lasted for a period of months for most two-parent
the single parent can lead to immediate hardship for the
families.
child and chaotic living
Family fragility was more acute but the period of separation was much shorter in families where a single parent or both parents were arrested.
arrangements for a period of time, even when extended family and community
In these cases, during the period of parents’ detention, extended family
members provide support and
members and others in the community took in their children.
care. If parents are released
Respondents described the responsibility of the immigrant community to
quickly, however, the impact
“take care of our own” children. In all three sites, community leaders
on children can be mitigated.
and other respondents said that preventing any children from being
On the other hand, family
taken into the custody of the state was one of their major accomplishments following the raids. However, as described earlier, the
separation and fragility last longer in two-parent families following arrests because the
arrangements for these children were in some cases ad hoc and
second parent is less likely to
unreliable. In Greeley and Grand Island, there was a handful of cases in
be released quickly. If the
which very young children were moved from home to home over a
remaining parent – usually the
period of weeks because temporary caregivers were unable to meet their
mother – is unaccustomed to
needs. There were also cases in which babysitters stayed with children
making major decisions
for extended periods of time – up to four months in one case in Grand Island.
regarding finances and other issues, the family may become immobilized and isolated
For the most part, however, family separation lasted only a few days or at most a few weeks in single-parent families. In New Bedford, 60
NCLR ◆ Page 43
following the raids.