Abstract
Growing concerns about the mental health and educational implications of intensified interior immigration enforcement on children in mixed-status households have led many school districts across the country to adopt “safe-zone” policies aimed at supporting their students’ well-being and academic progression. Using preliminary data from a binational survey conducted on US-born children in mixed-status households who have experienced or are at risk of parental deportation, we exploit the geographic variation in the adoption of safe-zone policies to assess if, and how, the policies might shield students from the negative impacts of intensified interior immigration enforcement. We find that heightened immigration enforcement has a detrimental impact on children’s educational performance, whereas safe zones help mitigate such effects. Overall, the results advance our understanding of the costs that immigration policies impose on migrants and US citizens alike, as well as the benefits of local sanctuary policies.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
- 2.
Sanctuary policies usually refer to measures enacted at the city, local, or state levels and safe zone refers to school district policies.
- 3.
The data collected in t0 refers exclusively to children with a deported parent. At the time this analysis was conducted, the second wave of interviews was being finalized.
- 4.
This is given by \( \partial Y/\partial SZ={\beta}_1+{\beta}_3\ast {\overline{\mu}}_{\mathrm{IE}} \), where: \( {\overline{\mu}}_{\mathrm{IE}}\approx \) 1.
- 5.
For simplicity, these predicted values ignore the remaining regressors, as well as the constant, since they would be common to the two groups of children being compared.
- 6.
Computed as [marginal effect of safe-zone policy at the average level of IE, i.e., (β1 + β3 ∗ 1)/DV mean].
References
Allen, B., Cisneros, E. M., & Tellez, A. (2015). The children left behind: The impact of parental deportation on mental health. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24(2), 386–392. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-013-9848-5
American Immigration Council. (2012). Falling through the cracks: The impact of immigration enforcement on children caught up in the child welfare system [Fact sheet]. Retrieved from https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/falling-through-cracks
Amuedo-Dorantes, C., & Lopez, M. J. (2015). Falling through the cracks? Grade retention and school dropout among children of likely unauthorized immigrants. American Economic Review, 105(5), 598–603. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.p20151113
Amuedo-Dorantes, C., & Lopez, M. J. (2017). The hidden educational costs of intensified immigration enforcement. Southern Economic Journal, 84(1), 120–154. https://doi.org/10.1002/soej.12207
Bauder, H. (2017). Sanctuary cities: Policies and practices in international perspective. International Migration, 55(2), 174–187. https://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12308
Bellows, L. (2019). Immigration enforcement and student achievement in the wake of secure communities. AERA Open, 5(4), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858419884891
Bojorquez, I., Aguilera, R. M., Ramírez, J., Cerecero, D., & Mejía, S. (2015). Common mental disorders at the time of deportation: A survey at the Mexico–United States border. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 17(6), 1732–1738. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-014-0083-y
Brabeck, K., & Xu, Q. (2010). The impact of detention and deportation on Latino immigrant children and families: A quantitative exploration. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 32(3), 341–361. https://doi.org/10.1177/0739986310374053
Brennan, W. J., & Supreme Court of The United States. (1981). U.S. Reports: Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202. [Periodical] Retrieved from the Library of Congress. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/item/usrep457202/
California Department of Education. (2021, May 10). California safe haven school districts list. Retrieved from https://www.cde.ca.gov/eo/in/casafehavendistrictslist.asp
Cantor, G. (2014). Thousands of U.S.-citizen children separated from parents, ICE records show. Immigration Impact. Retrieved from https://immigrationimpact.com/2014/06/26/thousands-of-u-s-citizen-children-separated-from-parents-ice-records-show/
Capps, R., Fix, M., & Zong, J. (2016). A profile of U.S. children with unauthorized immigrant parents [Fact sheet]. Migration Policy Institute, 1–25. Retrieved from https://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/profile-us-children-unauthorized-immigrant-parents
Cardoso, J. B., Brabeck, K., Capps, R., Chen, T., Giraldo-Santiago, N., Huertas, A., & Mayorga, N. A. (2021). Immigration enforcement fear and anxiety in Latinx high school students: The indirect effect of perceived discrimination. Journal of Adolescent Health., 68(5), 961–968. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.08.019
Cavazos-Rehg, P. A., Zayas, L. H., & Spitznagel, E. L. (2007). Legal status, emotional well-being and subjective health status of Latino immigrants. Journal of the National Medical Association, 99(10), 1126–1131. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17987916
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020a) Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Retrieved from www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/aces/index.html
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020b) Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/index.htm
Chaudry, A., Capps, R., Pedroza, J. M., Castañeda, R. M., Santos, R., & Scott, M. M. (2010). Facing our future: Children in the aftermath of immigration enforcement. The Urban Institute, 1–80. Retrieved from http://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/28331/412020-Facing-Our-Future.PDF
Dee, T. S., & Murphy, M. (2020). Vanished classmates: The effects of local immigration enforcement on school enrollment. American Educational Research Journal, 57(2), 694–727. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831219860816
Dreby, J. (2012). The burden of deportation on children in Mexican immigrant families. Journal of Marriage and Family, 74(4), 829–845. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2012.00989.x
Harris, K. M. (2009). The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), Waves I & II, 1994–1996; Wave III, 2001–2002; Wave IV, 2007-2009. Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Add Health (unc.edu).
Kirksey, J. J., Sattin-Bajaj, C., Gottfried, M. A., Freeman, J., & Ozuna, C. S. (2020). Deportations near the schoolyard: Examining immigration enforcement and racial/ethnic gaps in educational outcomes. AERA Open, 6(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858419899074
Los Angeles City Board of Education (2016, February). LA unified campuses as safe zones and resource centers for students and families threatened by immigration enforcement (Res-032-15/16). [Motion/resolution presented to the Los Angeles City Board of Education for consideration]. Los Angeles City Board of Education Resolution: LA Unified Campuses as Safe Zones and Resource Centers for Students and Families Threatened by Immigration Enforcement - Informed Immigrant.
Lopez, W. D., Kruger, D. J., Delva, J., Llanes, M., Ledón, C., Waller, A., Harner, M., Martinez, R., Sanders, L., Harner, M., & Israel, B. (2017). Health implications of an immigration raid: Findings from a Latino community in the midwestern United States. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 19(3), 702–708. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-016-0390-6
Marsh, H. W. (1994). Using the National Longitudinal Study of 1988 to evaluate theoretical models of self-concept: The Self-Description Questionnaire. Journal of Educational Psychology, 86(3), 439–456. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.86.3.439
Martinez-Donate, A. P., Hovell, M. F., Rangel, M. G., Zhang, X., Sipan, C. L., Magis-Rodriguez, C., & Gonzalez-Fagoaga, J. E. (2015). Migrants in transit: The importance of monitoring HIV risk among migrant flows at the Mexico–US border. American Journal of Public Health, 105(3), 497–509. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2014.302336
Morse, A. (2019). Immigrant Policy Project: Report on State Immigration Laws, 2018. National Conference of State Legislatures. Retrieved from https://www.ncsl.org/Portals/1/Documents/immig/ImmigPolicy_2018_v04.pdf
Passel, J. S., & Cohn, D. (2016). Children of unauthorized immigrants represent rising share of K-12 students. Pew Research Center Fact Tank. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/11/17/children-of-unauthorized-immigrants-represent-rising-share-of-k-12-students/
Pivovarova, M., & Vagi, R. (2020). Better schools or different students? The impact of immigration reform on school-level student achievement. The Social Science Journal, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soscij.2019.05.014
Portes, A., & Rumbaut, R. G. (2012). Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (CILS). San Diego, California, Fort Lauderdale and Miami, Florida, 1991–2006 (ICPSR 20520). https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR20520.v3.
Preston, J., & Medina, J. (2016, November 19). Immigrants who came to the U.S. as children fear deportation under Trump. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/20/us/immigrants-donald-trump-daca.html
Rojas-Flores, L., Clements, M. L., Hwang Koo, J., & London, J. (2017). Trauma and psychological distress in Latino citizen children following parental detention and deportation. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 9(3), 352–361. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0000177
Sampson, R. J., Raudenbush, S. W., & Earls, F. (1997). Neighborhoods and violent crime: A multilevel study of collective efficacy. Science, 277(5328), 918–924. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.277.5328.918
San Francisco Board of Education. (2017) Undocumented, unafraid and united students resolution (Resolution No. 171-10A1) [Resolution by the San Francisco Board of Education] Microsoft Word - Haney Walton et al. adopted Undoc clean copy 5 23 17 (smallschoolsforequity.org).
Shoichet, C. E., & Ansari, A. (2016, November 16). ‘Sanctuary campus’ protests target Trump immigration policies. CNN. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2016/11/16/politics/sanctuary-campus-protests/
Strengths & Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). (2012). SDQ: Information for researchers and professionals about the Strengths & Difficulties Questionnaires. Retrieved from https://www.sdqinfo.org
U.S. Census Bureau. (2021). American Housing Survey (AHS). Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/ahs.html
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). (2020a) Food security in the United States. Economic Research Service. Retrieved from https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-security-in-the-united-states/
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). (2020b) Survey tools. Economic Research Service. Retrieved from https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/survey-tools/
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). (2017, February 20) Memorandum on the Enforcement of the Immigration Laws to Serve the National Interest. [memorandum] Retrieved from https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/17_0220_S1_Enforcement-of-the-Immigration-Laws-to-Serve-the-National-Interest.pdf
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). (2015). FY 2015 ICE immigration removals. U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Retrieved from https://www.ice.gov/removal-statistics/2015
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). (2018). Fiscal year 2018 ICE enforcement and removal operations report. U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Retrieved from https://www.ice.gov/features/ERO-2018
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). (2020). Delegation of immigration authority Section 287(g) Immigration and Nationality Act. U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Retrieved from https://www.ice.gov/identify-and-arrest/287g
Wang, J. S.-H., & Kaushal, N. (2019). Health and mental health effects of local immigration enforcement. International Migration Review, 53(4), 970–1001. https://doi.org/10.1177/0197918318791978
Wessler, S. F. (2011). Shattered families: The perilous intersection of immigration enforcement and the child welfare system. Applied Research Center, 1–65. Retrieved from https://www.raceforward.org/research/reports/shattered-families
Zayas, L. H., Aguilar-Gaxiola, S., Yoon, H., & Rey, G. N. (2015). The distress of citizen-children with detained and deported parents. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24(11), 3213–3223. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-015-0124-8
Acknowledgments
Special thanks to Gudelia Rangel, Jamile Tellez Lieberman, Eduardo Faogaga-Gonzalez, and Ahmed Asadi Gonzalez for their work with the survey design and implementation of the Between the Lines Study.
This study was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (Grant #1R21HD085157-01A1, Principal Investigator: Ana P. Martinez-Donate).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Appendix
Appendix
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Amuedo-Dorantes, C., Bucheli, J.R., Martinez-Donate, A.P. (2022). Safe-Zone Schools and Children with Undocumented Parents. In: Glick, J.E., King, V., McHale, S.M. (eds) Parent-Child Separation. National Symposium on Family Issues, vol 1. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-87759-0_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-87759-0_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-87758-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-87759-0
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)