Washington, DC– A new report released today by the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) and the Urban Institute found that for every two people detained in immigration enforcement operations, one child is left behind. Two-thirds of these children are U.S. citizens and a similar share is under age ten.
The report, Paying the Price: The Impact of Immigration Raids on America’s Children, details the consequences of immigration enforcement operations on children’s psychological, educational, economic, and social well-being. It also outlines the heavy burden that workplace raids are placing on communities, school systems, social service providers, and religious institutions, which have acted as first responders for families in these incidents.
“The local governments and communities we studied did not have adequate resources to deal with children’s needs in the aftermath of the raids,” said Randy Capps, a demographer with the nonpartisan Urban Institute. “At the same time, the federal government did not have in place policies and procedures that explicitly consider the protection of children.”
A team of researchers from the nonpartisan Urban Institute studied three communities that experienced large-scale worksite raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents within the past year: Greeley, Colorado; Grand Island, Nebraska; and New Bedford, Massachusetts. A total of 912 people were arrested and 506 children were directly affected.
NCLR funded the study to obtain an independent, objective assessment of how recent immigration actions have affected the children of immigrants.
“That we are putting the youngest, most vulnerable members of our society at profound risk is something that must be taken into consideration in any policy decision. This report clearly demonstrates that it may be years before we know the full effect of the worksite raids on these children and the long-term costs to our society,” stated Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO.
The study found that the raids forced schools, child care providers, and extended families to act swiftly as important safety nets for children. On the day of the raids in all three sites, for example, the school districts made sure that children were not dropped off to empty homes or left at school overnight.
“Strong extended networks of families and friends took on significant caregiving and economic support responsibilities for children with parents arrested in the raids,” said Urban Institute researcher Rosa Maria Castañeda. “These resourceful networks were effective in ensuring that no children were left alone or taken into the custody of the state.”
The report, Paying the Price: The Impact of Immigration Raids on America’s Children, details the consequences of immigration enforcement operations on children’s psychological, educational, economic, and social well-being. It also outlines the heavy burden that workplace raids are placing on communities, school systems, social service providers, and religious institutions, which have acted as first responders for families in these incidents.
“The local governments and communities we studied did not have adequate resources to deal with children’s needs in the aftermath of the raids,” said Randy Capps, a demographer with the nonpartisan Urban Institute. “At the same time, the federal government did not have in place policies and procedures that explicitly consider the protection of children.”
A team of researchers from the nonpartisan Urban Institute studied three communities that experienced large-scale worksite raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents within the past year: Greeley, Colorado; Grand Island, Nebraska; and New Bedford, Massachusetts. A total of 912 people were arrested and 506 children were directly affected.
NCLR funded the study to obtain an independent, objective assessment of how recent immigration actions have affected the children of immigrants.
“That we are putting the youngest, most vulnerable members of our society at profound risk is something that must be taken into consideration in any policy decision. This report clearly demonstrates that it may be years before we know the full effect of the worksite raids on these children and the long-term costs to our society,” stated Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO.
The study found that the raids forced schools, child care providers, and extended families to act swiftly as important safety nets for children. On the day of the raids in all three sites, for example, the school districts made sure that children were not dropped off to empty homes or left at school overnight.
“Strong extended networks of families and friends took on significant caregiving and economic support responsibilities for children with parents arrested in the raids,” said Urban Institute researcher Rosa Maria Castañeda. “These resourceful networks were effective in ensuring that no children were left alone or taken into the custody of the state.”
1 comment:
This country has gotten just plain mean. We don't value our own children, let alone the children of other human beings who we classify as "Illegal" and "Undocumented" to help distance ourselves from them. We watch pedophiles line up to meet underage girls in televised stings as news/entertainment. We have men running for presidential nominations who have wives young enough to be their children. Tell me why anyone would think we would give a rat's ass about what happens to some day laborer's kid after he gets caught in a raid at Home Depot?
After Black Americans demanded our civil rights, this country was caught short with no underclass. To care about "them" would be to humanize them and that would lead to empathy and, dear God, empathy doesn't make a good bottom line or happy stockholders.
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