Leveraging protections, navigating punishments: How adult children of undocumented immigrants mediate illegality in Latinx families

Abstract

AbstractObjectiveThe objective of this study is to examine how adult children of undocumented immigrants manage parental illegality in Latinx immigrant families.BackgroundThere are 16.7 million people who live with at least one undocumented family member in the U.S. today. Scholars have documented how children of undocumented immigrants can help navigate the negative consequences of illegality in their families. However, less is known about how the immigration status of these youth shapes the support they provide to their undocumented parents.MethodThis study draws on 41 in‐depth semi‐structured interviews with 19 DACAmented and 22 U.S.‐born citizen college students (18–27) who had at least one undocumented parent. Interviews were collected via snowball sampling technique at a large research university in Southern California.ResultsThe findings suggest that citizen and DACAmented college students engage in distinct strategies when mediating illegality for their undocumented parents. Citizens attempt to leverage their protected legal status to help their undocumented parents become Lawful Permanent Residents and step in during situations where threats of deportation are imminent. DACAmented young adults draw on their experience with legal precarity to help their undocumented parents navigate punishments associated with their immigration status.ConclusionThis research uncovers how parents' precarious legal status contributes to the intergenerational transmission of disadvantage among citizen and DACAmented young adults—and how these youths try to mediate the harms of illegality.ImplicationsThe strategies adult children of undocumented immigrants implement to negotiate illegality in their families highlights the need for policy addressing the legal vulnerability of undocumented and mixed status families.