Deportations are ripping families apart
Written by Sabrina Axster
Recently deported immigrants from the United States sit at Centro de Recursos para Migrantes near Douglas, Arizona. Image via Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post
Deportations are a divisive issue — especially now. The Obama administration has initiated the largest numbers of deportations yet, and despite the common idea that violent criminal undocumented migrants are those most often deported, reality paints a different picture.
Closer analysis reveals that deportations affect immigrants of all stripes, often with serious consequences for their families. Here, we’ll look at a few core issues surrounding deportations, including who is most often deported and why, the consequences of a flawed system, and what’s being done to reform the process.
Deportations today
Obama has often been called the “deporter in chief” by immigration activists because of his track record. According to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a record number of people were deported in 2012, totaling 409,849. In contrast, under former President George W. Bush, 369,221 people were deported in 2008, his last year in office. The numbers have gone down since 2012, however, and deportations were at 235,413 in 2015.
Image via ice.gov
The hundreds of thousands who are deported each year aren’t necessarily undocumented immigrants, either. Every year large numbers of long-term documented migrants are forced to return to their country of origin. Many of them might have been able to get US citizenship if it was not for financial constraints or rules from their country of origin forbidding dual citizenship. In essence “any person who is not a U.S. citizen can be deported from the United States.”
Even though there has been a push to focus on criminals, people who are deported include those who have committed minor crimes, minors, the elderly, people who are ill, pregnant women, and even people who have served in the US military.
Why are people deported?
Immigrants can be deported for a “‘crime of moral turpitude” or an “aggravated felony.” While the first term is not well defined, there is an extensive list for the latter. It includes murder, rape, sexual abuse of a minor, drug trafficking, offenses related to firearms or explosive materials, money laundering of more than $10,000, spying or sabotage, and/or obstruction of justice. According to the ICE, 59 percent of those deported in 2015 were convicted criminals.
However, there is a sense among critics that many people have been arrested and then deported based on trumped-up criminal charges. One problem arises from the privatization of detention centers. Some experts say that immigrants are arrested and prepared for deportation to meet controversial bed quotas with private detention center providers who are accused of abusing inmates.
Another overarching problem is that it is not the court that labels a crime as a crime of moral turpitude or an aggravated felony. The court will likely only specify whether the crime is classified as a misdemeanor. Rather, immigration authorities are the ones that determine whether the crime is classified as a deportable offense. This causes some people to be deported for certain misdemeanors like drunk driving or check fraud. One example is that of Isidro Macario, originally from Guatemala, who was deported from the US after 25 years and had to leave his wife and sons behind for a 1995 misdemeanor drunk driving conviction. That is not to say that some of the crimes for which people get deported are not serious offenses, but the system that determines that isn’t as clear cut as might be expected.
Other deportable offenses include overstaying a visa or failing to inform immigration services of a change of address.
The effects of deportation
Deportations not only have big consequences for the person who is deported, but, oftentimes, also for their families. Since immigrant women are often already more vulnerable than immigrant men, being left without their partner can leave them struggling to meet financial obligations, which may also put their children at risk of housing insecurity and insufficient food. Many of the families it affects the most are already struggling to make ends meet.
It’s those effects on children that are particularly troublesome. Parents who face deportation have to decide whether to leave their children in the US or to take them back with them — even if the kids are US citizens. This is an issue that’s gotten increasing attention in light of the strong laws that exist in the US to protect families.
The Guardian recounts the story of Guatemalan immigrant Andrés Jiménez whose father was deported for driving with an expired license plate when he was seven years old. Jiménez broke down into tears on national television when he asked for his family to be reunited. He was scared that the authorities would also deport his mother. Planning for that emergency, his mother signed the guardianship of her children over to Nora Sandiago, a “fairy godmother” who is a guardian to more than 800 children of parents who fear deportation and do not want their children to end up in foster care.
Mexican immigrant Yolanda Zuñiga told her own story to the New York Daily News of how she was taken into custody and then deported when her son was only two years old. Her son was taken in by her 21-year-old daughter who is a US citizen, while Yolanda, now in Tijuana, is working to get her child back.
Beyond the visible economic and physical effects, deportations can also cause serious psychological harm to children, including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and separation anxiety. Even the lead up to the deportation of the parent, which can include worksite and home raids, is traumatic, resulting in uncontrollable crying, fear of separation and serious anxiety when children are dropped off at school or day-care. Moreover, it can lead to isolation and stigma of the families from their surrounding community.
What’s being done now?
Deportation is still a hot political issue that has proven to be divisive in the current Presidential election. Some candidates call for mass deportation while others want to exempt certain groups from deportation. Obama’s Executive Action would help reduce the numbers of those who are targeted for deportation to a certain extent, but it wouldn’t stop it — or the ongoing controversy — completely.
Another issue that is being addressed by legislators right now is that of the bed quotas. In terms of policy, several areas that contribute to the high deportation rates need to be addressed. But for every pro-immigrant policy there are also anti-immigrant policies being developed at all levels — federal, state, and local. Read more about the existing and proposed legislation in these briefs and resources developed by the Migration Policy Institute.
Want to find out more about your rights when it comes to deportation? The New York-based organization Families for Freedom offers advice to people facing deportations and provides an overview of the rights of immigrants.
