Collateral Consequences: The Impact of Local Immigration Policies on Latino Immigrant Families in North Central Indiana

Abstract

Concern over immigration has culminated in unprecedented legislative action at the local level, in particular state level legislation has begun to increasingly target immigrants and penalize immigration violations (Chavez and Provine, The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 623:78–92, 2009; Hegen, State legislation related to immigrants and immigration: January 1–June 30, 2008). The present study examines the effect of state level immigration legislation on immigrant Latino families at a time of high immigration, when immigrants are settling into locations which have not historically had immigrant populations, and during an extended economic recession (Mather, Children in immigrant families chart new path: Reports on America, 2009; US Bureau of Economic Analysis, Economic downturn widespread among states in 2009: Advanced 2009 and revised 1963–2008 GDP-By-state statistics, 2010; US Department of Homeland Security, Secretary Napolitano announces deferred action process for young people who are low enforcement priorities, 2012). Immigrant families today are likely to differ from those of the past in that they are more likely to be from Latin America or the Caribbean and include unprecedented numbers of unauthorized immigrants (Passel and Cohn, Unauthorized immigrant population: National and state trends, 2010, 2011; US Department of Homeland Security, Secretary Napolitano announces deferred action process for young people who are low enforcement priorities, 2012). The present study draws on interviews with 40 families from an emerging immigrant destination in North Central Indiana to help illuminate the ways in which local legislation and enforcement impacts immigrant Latino families. Results illustrate how state level immigration legislation can create barriers and challenges for immigrant Latino families, with authorized and unauthorized status alike. This study also finds that many immigrant Latino families are “mixed status families,” where a family consists of both authorized and unauthorized immigrant status family members, and thus share the plight of unauthorized family members. Due to this “mixed status family” status, many families experience the collateral consequences of state level legislation, including family stress and uncertainty in the form of family level “liminal legality,” escalated intergenerational tension, and increased social isolation.