Childhood Interrupted: Immigrant Lives at Stake in the Trump Era

Session Submission Type: Workshop

Abstract

Grounded in a human rights perspective, this workshop proposes an open discussion on the consequences of President Trump’s immigration policy in the United States (U.S.) with respect to immigrant children and their families. Two recent policy measures will be discussed: the imminent termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, known as DACA, and the compulsory separation of children from their parents at the border.

Since 2012 more than 700,000 young immigrants known as Dreamers have been benefited by Obama’s DACA, which granted work permits to young immigrants brought unlawfully to the U.S. when they were children. The impending termination of this program under President Trump’s mandate has left these young people in a sort of “limbo” that threatens them with potential deportation from the U.S. More recently, Trump’s policy has resulted in a de facto separation between parents and children seeking asylum at the border. While minors have been placed under foster care, their parents have been criminalized and sent to jail. The whereabouts of many of these minors is still unknown, and as of today, they have not yet been reunited with their parents.

The analysis of the government measures summarized above reveals flagrant violations of essential human rights as rooted in the basic principles of justice, fairness and transparency. This workshop will ultimately lead us to understanding the medium- and long-term consequences of Trump’s zero tolerance immigration policy for children and their families in the U.S.

Sub Track

• Migration, Displacements, Diasporas

Session Organizer

• Sara Z Poggio, University of Maryland/Baltimore County

Chair

• Anahí Viladrich, City University of New York/Queens College / The Graduate Center

Presenters

• Ximena A Poo Figueroa, Universidad de Chile

• Tania Pleitez Vela, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

• Atenea Rosado-Viurques, University of Pennsylvania