Fifty years ago in Minnesota, a “mixed marriage” meant a Lutheran marrying a Catholic and that meant trouble ahead. What church would they go to on Sunday morning? How would the children be raised? When the couple grew old and died, could they even be buried in the same cemetery? Today, those questions seem less momentous, just part of the negotiation of family life.
Immigrants made up 13.5 percent of the national population but only 8.3 percent of Minnesota’s population in 2015. The “Getting to know new Minnesotans” series explores some of Minnesota’s immigration picture. Click to read:
When immigration is the issue, however, mixed-status families still face tough issues. A mixed-status family is one in which family members have different immigration statuses. Immigration status comes in many varieties, including:
- U.S. citizens
- Immigrants with legal permanent residence (green cards)
- Non-immigrants with temporary status, such as students or temporary workers
- DACA permit holders
- People with Temporary Protected Status
- Unauthorized immigrants
- Refugees and asylees
A mixed-status family might include parents and children with different statuses, siblings with different statuses, partners with different statuses, and differing configurations.
The Migration Policy Institute estimates that 44,000 Minnesota children, including 32,000 U.S. citizen children, have parents who are unauthorized immigrants. Across the country, millions of people live in mixed-status families with at least one unauthorized immigrant member. And they live in fear.
Pepe and Lupita came from Mexico to the United States more than 20 years ago. They have two daughters, ages 10 and 14. They have worked hard, paid taxes, volunteer at their daughters’ schools, help out at soccer league games. A March 2017 Los Angeles Times article told their family’s story:
“Lupita and Pepe’s daughters are frightened. The children were born in the U.S., and so, unlike their parents, who overstayed their visitor visas, have all the rights of American citizens and are not subject to deportation. The 10-year-old is less aware of the threat than her 14-year-old sister. The teenager is given to crying bouts. ‘She doesn’t want to talk about it,’ explained Lupita. ‘I’ve told her that we have to be prepared. We’ve given her the option to stay or not, but she doesn’t know what to do.’”
Lupita and Pepe have prepared for the possibility of deportation, a possibility that looms larger and scarier than ever under the Trump administration. They have filled out power of attorney forms giving custody of the girls to Pepe’s parents, who are legal residents.
“’This is their country,’ [Lupita] said. ‘This is all they know. It will be devastating for them to go to a place they don’t know.’”
In Atlanta, a therapist described the impact on children in mixed-status families:
“We see a lot of anxiety. For every therapist, there are two or three cases of children whose families are dealing with some sort of immigration issue, whether that be that a parent is in jail, is free but awaiting deportation or they have witnessed a raid,” explained Juliao.
“Some children aren’t sleeping. They lose their appetite; they have nightmares. They don’t want to go to school, because they don’t want to leave mom or dad alone. Or they’re constantly crying, they’re more irritable and acting impulsively or angrily,” she added.
The Intercept reported on U.S. citizen children trying to adjust to life in Mexico, talking to Adrián Flores Ledesma, who works with education in Tijuana:
“’Generally these kids left everything behind, because from one day to the next it was an emergency situation,’ he said, ‘They left their clothes, their personal things, everything, and the next day they arrive in Tijuana. They get to a relative’s house, where they don’t fit, they don’t have a room, maybe they’re in the living room, no private bathroom. And all these things make them feel resentful of their parents, and think, why are they in Mexico, if they are Americans? So we also work with the parents, so they don’t feel that sense of guilt.’”
For mixed-status families, current U.S. immigration policy promotes family separation through deportation. Every day’s news brings more stories of families torn apart by deportation.
Every separated family, every fearful child is one more reason to work for comprehensive immigration reform, including a key goal of family reunification.
