Immigration Raids Harm Children

05/14/2008

Immigration Raids Harm Children

Almost all creativity involves purposeful play.
Abraham Maslow

"Immigration raids at worksites in the U.S. last year resulted in substantial harm to young children," reports Preschool Matters (March/April 2008; www.nieer.org). The newsletter reports on the results of a study by the Urban Institute and the National Council of La Raza of raids that took place last year in Greeley, Colorado; Grand Island, Nebraska; and New Bedford Massachusetts. The studies findings:

Nine hundred people were arrested, affecting 500 children.
At two of the sites, most of the children were age 10 and younger. At one, half were age 5 and younger.
The impact on children was immediate, with many of the arrestees leaving the country before contacting their families and others afraid to divulge to authorities that they had children.
Parents were deported or in some cases held in detention for months, causing hardship for children including difficulty coping with psychological and economic stress.
At all three study sites, community leaders and institutions initiated responses. Religious institutions emerged as distribution points considered "safe" by families.
Few of the affected families sought public assistance due to trust issues.

Preschool Matters presented some of the report's recommendations: "...that Congress provide oversight of immigration enforcement activities to ensure children are protected, that immigration authorities provide detainees with access to counsel, and that schools develop systems to help ensure children have a safe place to go in the event of a raid."

For more information on the study, go to www.fcd-us.org/usr_doc/UrbanLaRazaReport.pdf.

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