Undocumented Immigrant Parents and their Children’s Development: A Summary of the Evidence

1. Undocumented Immigrant Parents and their Children’s Development: A Summary of the Evidence Hirokazu Yoshikawa Courtney Sale Ross University Professor of Education Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development New York University Congressional Briefing Sponsored by Representative Judy Chu, the Congressional Tri-Caucus, and First Focus August 1, 2013

2. Source • Yoshikawa, H., & Kholoptseva, J. (2013). Unauthorized immigrant parents and their children’s development: A summary of the evidence. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute.

3. Introduction • Of 11 million unauthorized immigrants in the U.S.: many are parents • Over 5 million children with at least one unauthorized parent (Passel & Cohn, 2011) • Roughly 80% of these are U.S. citizens (Passel & Cohn, 2009) • 1 in 4 children with an immigrant parent has an unauthorized parent • How do these children fare? Similar outcomes or worse, compared with children of low-income authorized parents? • What are the implications when considering policy options from the standpoint of children’s development?

4. Effects of parent unauthorized status on children and youth • These 5 million children are doing worse, in comparison to other children from immigrant families: • Lower early cognitive skills (Yoshikawa, 2011) • In middle childhood, lower levels of positive development (Brabeck& Xu, 2010; Ortega et al., 2009) • In adolescence, higher anxiety and depressive symptoms (Potochnick & Perreira, 2010) • By young adulthood – 1.25 to 1.50 fewer years of schooling (Leach et al., 2011) • Removal proceedings’ effects on child behavior, school attendance and mental health (Chaudry et al., 2010)

5. Mechanisms of the Influence of Parent Unauthorized Status Across Lifespan • Removal proceedings and associated family experiences (Parent-child separation; income loss; parent mental health; Chaudry et al.; Suarez-Orozco & Hernandez, 2012) • Lower access to means-tested programs for U.S. citizen children (Capps & Fortuny, 2006; Yoshikawa, 2011) • Poor parental work conditions and economic hardship (Bernhardt et al., 2009) • Hardship and Parent psychological distress (Yoshikawa, 2011) • Awareness of own unauthorized status and associated barriers (Gonzales, 2011) • Blocked education and employment (Gonzales, 2011)

6. Exacerbating vs. Mitigating Contexts • Chronicity of unauthorized status across the family and developmental lifespan (Suarez-Orozco et al., 2011) • The Great Recession • Social service accessibility • Neighborhood networks and social capital (Dreby, 2012)

7. Policies and their Implications for Children • Directly modifying unauthorized status: • Pathway to citizenship would benefit over 5 million children • DACA and DREAM Act – focus on young and college-ready excludes many parents due to age limit and those not participating in educational activities / programs • Temporary worker programs – if without Social Security number access, excludes EITC receipt and its benefits for children (Dahl & Lochner, 2009) • Policies Improving Workplace Conditions: • Worker verification + legalization to improve conditions • Reducing key risks of wage violations and wage stagnation

8. Policies and their Implications for Children • Policies Providing Universal Access to High-Quality Preschool • Universal preschool with quality supports (rigorous curricula; professional development supports such as coaching in classroom; teachers compensated at public-school levels) • Benefits for all, including middle-class families; but especially strong effects on more disadvantaged – low-income families; Latino families; Dual Language Learners (Weiland & Yoshikawa, 2013; Gormley, Phillips, Dawon, 2005) • Policies Modifying Enforcement Practices • Prosecutorial discretion and consideration of parents under family and community ties provisions • Reducing unnecessary detainment and associated parent-child separation

9. CBO Practices(Crosnoe et al., 2012; Yoshikawa et al., 2013) • Policies and CBO Practices Affecting Enrollment Access for Means-Tested Benefits • Information and enrollment of children in mixed-status families in programs benefiting children’s development (WIC; SNAP; child care subsidies) • Identification drives (eg working with consulates) • Third-party earnings verification • Close communication between immigrant-serving organizations and government agencies (e.g., Medicaid; Departments of Transitional Assistance; WIC)

10. Summary • Among children in immigrant families, the 5 million children of the unauthorized (including over 4 million US citizen children) are at highest risk for lack of school completion and loss of developmental and economic potential. • Policy aspects under discussion that may benefit children’s development: • Full pathway to citizenship (with access to the EITC, which boosts students’ school achievement) • Application to all unauthorized, including older parents and those not participating in education / least college-ready • Worker legalization + employee verification integrated • Reducing barriers to enrolling citizen children in supports that aid their development, such as preschool

11. Thanks • For further information contact: • Hiro.yoshikawa@nyu.edu