Forced Out of Fatherhood: How Men Strive to Parent Post-Deportation

Abstract

Abstract Scholars estimate that 90 percent of U.S. deportees are men, and one in three have children in the United States. For these men, removal is often intertwined with detention and incarceration, as the United States pulls deportees from prison and punishes those who attempt reentry. This deportation-carceral system separates fathers from their children and erodes family intimacy. Drawing on 54 interviews, we find that deported fathers adopt three distinct identities as parents which inform their practices post-deportation: 1) those facing a first deportation and short stints in detention remain undeterred, maintaining practical ties and focusing single-mindedly on reuniting with their children; 2) those who have spent more time in detention and/or attempted reentry unsuccessfully also sustain strong fatherly identities, yet they acquiesce to the institutional barriers to remaining connected in practice; and 3) those who were incarcerated pre-deportation largely resign themselves to institutional barriers and give up on parenting. While most fathers strive to persist as parents, the deeper their entanglements in the system, the higher the obstacles to fathering. Upon return to Mexico, the first two groups live in limbo while the third feels deeply alienated. Thus, deportation not only undermines immigrant families in the United States; it also inhibits fathers’ return to their nation of origin.