Explaining Immigration Separation to Children
Due to our current administration, there is an increased need and interest about explaining immigration separation to children. According to UCLA’s Latino Policy and Politics Institute,
The children of undocumented immigrants who have already crossed the border exist in permanent limbo, fearful every day that their parents will be snatched away from them, and wondering if they have any future in this country. Many of these students identify as Latinx. Instead of focusing on their education, these students struggle with this uncertainty and as a result are often absent from school or inattentive. Their teachers also struggle to motivate them and sometimes to protect them. The broken immigration system hurts schools and creates victims across the spectrum of race and ethnicity in the United States, but it is especially acute for these students.
Our PEACE member, Fran Roznowski, provided us with several resources for children, parents and teachers:
Children’s Books:
- Something Happened to My Dad — A Child’s Story About Immigration written by Anne Hazzard and Vivianne Aponte Rivera illustrated by Gloria Félix (2022)
- Mama’s Nightingale — A Story of Immigration and Separation written by Edwidge Danticat and illustrated by Leslie Staub (2015) — somewhat dated because the mother is able to send cassette recordings with bedtime stories from the immigration detention center to her child. After a 3 month stay, a judge rules that the mother can return home to await a decision on her immigration status.
- Where’s my Daddy? Dónde Está Mi Papi? — A story about a child whose father was taken into immigration custody.
Caregiver Resources:
- How To Talk To A Child Worried About Deportation (PDF)
- Traumatic Separation and Refugee And Immigrant Children: Tips For Current Caregivers (PDF)
- Care, Cope, Connect: Comforting and Supporting Kids During Community Stress from Sesame Street Workshop
