In the past weeks, media coverage has focused on how recent policy changes are causing immigrant children to be taken away from their parents at the border. Many outlets have examined the health effects of prolonged stress and separation from parents on kids. It is important to note that immigrant children have been affected by the current administration’s aggressive stance on immigration long before this particular policy change.
Throughout the United States, there are almost six million kids that are American citizens who live with an undocumented family member. Many have been affected directly by the current immigration crackdown, while others experience constant stress at the idea of a family member being taken away.
Rosa Maria Hernandez, an undocumented 10-year-old child living in Texas, was taken into custody while she and her cousin were en route to a hospital for an emergency surgery. Immediately following her hospital stay, she lived for ten days without her parents in a San Antonio shelter. After intense public outcry about her situation, she was reunited with her family. Nevertheless, officials familiar with her case such as Michael Tan, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), told the Washington Post that Rosa Maria, who has never been away from her parents, was deeply traumatized and unsure of her surroundings.
6-year old Zury Baez told Newsweek that for the 86 days she was separated from her mother Jeanette Vizguerra, she hardly slept or ate. Vizguerra, who is undocumented, was living in Denver churches to avoid immigration check-ins and the threat of deportation.
Jeanette Vizguerra hugs her 6-year old daughter Zury Baez at First Unitarian Church in Denver, Colorado, where she is seeking sanctuary.
Image Source: Marc Piscotty
More generally, pediatricians and health officials are reporting increases in child patients with various disorders, such as depression, intense stress, and, as in the case of Zury Baez, sleeping and eating problems. However, these health problems are only observed if patients visit their doctor. Many undocumented parents, are not going to regular appointments due to a fear of being detained or deported. As a result, kids are missing important pediatric checkpoints, such as vaccinations and screenings.
In fact, a study from the University of Michigan suggests that deportation anxiety can affect unborn babies. The babies born to detained mothers in the nine months after a 2008 immigration raid in Iowa had a 24 percent higher risk of low birth weight compared to babies born in the previous year, during which there was no immigration raid.
The ongoing immigration crackdown threatens to affect the mental and physical health of almost 6 million kids. Regardless of political opinion, it is undeniable that the uncertainty and instability of living with the threat of deportation will create a generation of immigrant kids who are negatively affected.
Feature Image Source: Child Fear by Counselling
