Article In the last several years,
much needed attention has been directed to understanding the
special needs of immigrant families, children and youth who
become involved with the child welfare system. While there is no
data that indicates the exact numbers of immigrant families and
children who come into contact with the system, those who do
present service providers with many unique challenges. These may
include profound differences in parenting styles and child
discipline; family role expectations; language; and levels of
acculturation. In addition, immigration status, which may vary
among family members, affects accessing health care, social
services and educational opportunities, and also affects family
members’ abilities to reside and work legally in the US. Less
obvious but equally important to consider when addressing the
issues facing immigrant families are transnationalism and the
deepening effects of prejudice, discrimination and fears of
deportation that affect all immigrants, whether legal or
undocumented. Both factors have an impact on family dynamics and
functioning and should be considered by service providers in
assessment, intervention and permanency planning.
Transnationalism—a situation in which family members live in
different countries but remain intimately connected through
regular communication, contact and economic support—is a
phenomenon related to globalization. Unlike previous waves of
migration during which individuals or families left their
country of origin permanently, new migrants often go back and
forth frequently, remain in close contact with relatives through
technological advances (cell phones, videophones or the
internet) and maintain economic ties through remittances (sums
of money sent home regularly to family or extended kin for the
purposes of support). How transnationalism affects families and
children has not been adequately studied, but it is clear that
immigrant families often have very close ties to relatives and
extended kin in their home countries that affect how they live
in the US. For example, immigrant parents often expect that
children who were left behind will later join them in the US;
however, when they do, these children may encounter new siblings
born in the US or find newly formed and blended families if
their parents have separated and remarried. This can affect
parents and children who are forced to adjust to new roles and
expectations in new family formations; it can also raise
problems associated with the “mixed status,” of siblings, i.e.,
the US born children are citizens while those left behind are
not.
In a reverse phenomenon of transnationalism, some immigrant
parents living in the US choose to send their adolescent
children back to grandparents or other extended kin in their
country of origin to address behavior problems and enforce
discipline. While for some children this can be beneficial and
can help them maintain cultural and language ties to their
homeland, for others it can be disastrous. The children have no
real ties to their country of origin, are viewed as having
“Americanized” attitudes and behaviors, and (with inadequate
supervision) may quickly become involved with gangs.
A second factor to consider when working with immigrant families
is how the hostile political and social climate is affecting
family behavior and their ability to function.
Many state and local governments have passed legislation
requiring that immigrants provide proof of eligibility (based on
their immigration status) to obtain a driver’s license and
access social services, housing and health care. These laws keep
many immigrant parents from using state-funded healthcare
programs for children and have resulted in tragic incidents in
which undocumented parents who are fearful of being deported
have failed to seek emergency medical care for their children.
Additionally, the children of immigrant parents enroll less
often in early intervention programs, youth programs and other
community recreational and educational activities.
Immigration enforcement activities, which have doubled in size
and scope since 2005, create an additional level of fear,
driving many families even deeper into the shadows. One can only
begin to imagine the level of trauma and the long-term negative
effects this could have on the children of immigrant parents who
are detained and deported.
Child welfare practitioners must become equipped to work with
new migrant populations in this era of globalization. This means
understanding the role of immigration law, the fear of
deportation and the hostile and discriminatory attitudes that
affect families’ abilities to access educational, economic and
health care systems. Service providers must also understand the
dynamics of migration, especially of transnational life. This
may mean asking questions about family members who are not in
the country and understanding how distant relatives can in fact
be valuable resources to families here. It also means developing
new relationships with entities such as consulates,
international social service providers and others who can assist
in accessing documents, finding extended family members and
conducting international home studies and other permanency
planning activities.
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