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Latino Immigrant Families and Restrictive Immigration Climate: Perceived Experiences with Discrimination, Threat to Family, Social Exclusion, Children’s Vulnerability, and Related Factors

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between known cultural protective factors, immigration factors, and perceived consequences of restrictive immigration climate. Survey data were collected in the state of Arizona (N = 300). Over eighty percent (83%, n = 248) of the participants were mothers, the remaining participants were fathers (17.3% or n = 52). Eighty-six percent of the participants were married and had three children (SD = 1.12). Participants were more established immigrants (M = 15.8, SD = 6.42). Hierarchical linear regressions were used to assess the associations between immigration variables, protective factors, and perceived effects of immigration policies. The results revealed social support, familismo, deportations, and financial hardship were significant predictors. Implications of the impact of restrictive policies on immigrant families are discussed.

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Funding

This study was funded by the Foundation for Child Development (PI: Ayón).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Policy, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA

    Cecilia Ayón & Sara Heajin Kim

  2. School of Nursing and Health Professions, University of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Dellanira Valencia-Garcia

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  1. Cecilia Ayón
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  2. Dellanira Valencia-Garcia
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  3. Sara Heajin Kim
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Correspondence to Cecilia Ayón.

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Ayón, C., Valencia-Garcia, D. & Kim, S.H. Latino Immigrant Families and Restrictive Immigration Climate: Perceived Experiences with Discrimination, Threat to Family, Social Exclusion, Children’s Vulnerability, and Related Factors. Race Soc Probl 9, 300–312 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12552-017-9215-z

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