Multigenerational Punishment: Shared Experiences of Undocumented Immigration Status Within Mixed‐Status Families

Abstract

Estimates suggest that approximately 16.6 million people in the United States are members of mixed‐status families composed of undocumented immigrants and U.S. citizens or documented immigrants. Drawing on interviews with 32 undocumented 1.5‐generation parents, the author explores how immigration laws affect undocumented parents and their citizen children. She finds that U.S. citizen children and their undocumented parents often share in the risks and limitations associated with undocumented immigration status. She conceptualizes this phenomenon as multigenerational punishment, a distinct form of legal violence wherein the sanctions intended for a specific population spill over to negatively affect individuals who are not targeted by laws. Though not restricted to familial relationships, multigenerational punishment tends to occur within families because of the strong social ties, sustained day‐to‐day interactions, and dependent relationships found among family members. This sheds light on how laws can further the reproduction of inequality within families and over generations.

The Developmental Impact of Reverse-Migration Separation on Low-Income Chinese-American Children—Provider Perspectives

“…This observation affirmed the finding from the literature that because of fear of legal involvement, many immigrants (especially undocumented) avoid accessing resources and services from government agencies [11] [12].…”

“…Because of fear of legal involvement, many of them avoid accessing valuable resources and programs essential to meet their family needs. Compared to those who have legal status, undocumented immigrants are subjected to significantly more exploitive work conditions, receive limited or no job benefits, and have fewer reliable social ties to fall back on [11]. These barriers to services among Chinese undocumented immigrants present tremendous challenges for healthcare and child service providers, teachers, social service workers, and policy makers who strive to address the specific needs of these families and their children.…”

“…There are many undocumented Chinese immigrants living in fear of deportation [6]. Their undocumented immigration status exacerbates the problem for them accessing child welfare, social services, and healthcare which in turn adversely affects their health and well-being [11] [12]. Many avoid accessing valuable resources and programs essential to meet their family needs.…”

“…Other than low wage jobs, there are very few opportunities for these undocumented workers to find standard tax-paying jobs. Undocumented immigration status, not only adversely affects Fujianese immigrants in their employment and income, but also exacerbates the problem for them accessing child welfare, social services, and healthcare which in turn adversely affects their health and well-being [11] [12]. Because of fear of legal involvement, many of them avoid accessing valuable resources and programs essential to meet their family needs.…”

A ‘master status’ or the ‘final straw’? Assessing the role of immigration status in Latino undocumented youths’ pathways out of school

“…As children, undocumented youth are largely dependent on their parents, and thus share in a multitude of economic, emotional, and social limitations that result from their parents' undocumented status (Dreby 2015;Enriquez 2015). In particular, their parents' lack of work authorization restricts them to low-wage, unstable employment that places the entire family in a low socioeconomic status.…”