Fear And Anxiety: Negative Impacts Of Immigrant Children

754 Words2 Pages

Abstract
Migration is much more than just one person migrating from one country to the other, it is a complex movement that impacts and involves many other people. The Department of Homeland Security estimates that about 700,00 new undocumented immigrants come into the United States each year (2016). Of these 700,00 undocumented immigrants, thousands of families are being separated. Current immigration policies make it very difficult for families to migrate safely together. These immigration policies include deportation and detention centers both of which separate families. The trend that is found is that a parent or both parents migrate first while they save up money to bring their children individually. The highest number of immigrants come from Central American countries mainly, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. These are the countries that we will be focusing on. The three main themes that this paper will be focusing on will be: Anxiety due to fear of immigration policies, emotional impacts due to familial separation, and educational outcomes of immigrant children.

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(2011) studied the effects that immigration policies have on immigrant families, specifically those from Guatemala and El Salvador. 72% of the interviewed families stated that they had left behind family members during their migration; they each reported feeling conflicted about leaving their children behind in their home countries. Participants stated the high levels of fear and stress caused by deportation and even the mere possibility of it (page 289). Parents recognized the higher level of opportunity available in the United states but the main results of the study showed that laws regarding immigration and undocumented migrants are stressors for the parents and especially the

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