Poster #178 - The immigration experiences of Central American families

• In Event: 3-053 - Poster Session 10
  In Poster Session: PS 10 Section - Race, Ethnicity, Culture, Context

Integrative Statement

Researchers assert that Latino immigrant families, particularly families from Mexico and Central America, face many demographic risk factors related to socioeconomic status, but also several strengths (Howes, 2012). Much less is known, however, about the immigration experiences of Latina mothers, and the implications of these experiences for family functioning (Yoshikawa, 2011). The purpose of this study was to explore themes and variations in Central American mothers’ immigration experiences.

This study included 32 mothers who had emigrated from Central American countries between 1990 and 2009. The sample was diverse in terms of demographics and immigration experiences (See Table 1). Notably, nearly all the mothers were undocumented. A bilingual, bicultural graduate student engaged mothers in 1 ½ to 2 hour interviews consisting of open-ended questions and surveys on their immigrant experience, parenting experiences and family functioning. Mothers were asked to discuss the reasons for migrating to the US, any family separations that occurred, their feelings about these separations, and reasons for settling in the area. The qualitative interviews were coded thematically by the first and second authors. Reliability was maintained at 90% agreement or higher on themes and subthemes.

Five major themes emerged from the interviews: mothers’ reasons for coming to the US; family separations and reunions; socioeconomic experiences in the US; transnational parenting; and parenting US-born children. Unlike Central American immigrants seeking asylum in the US, nearly all the women in the sample migrated for economic opportunities. Almost all the women immigrated alone to join family members. Some of these women already had children, but made the difficult decision to leave their children with grandparents, with the idea of sending remittances home to support their children, while trying to save up enough money to bring their children to the US.

Central American women’s socioeconomic experiences in the US typically did not match their expectations- jobs were scarce and plans to save money oftentimes went unrealized. Yet, some mothers were consistently employed, were able to help their families, and had few regrets about coming to the US. Seven of the women were engaged in transnational parenting, women expressed great sorrow over the separation and its consequences on their relationships with their children. Also many women felt torn between the needs/ opportunities of their children who were born in the US, and desires to be reunited with children in their home countries. Even if family economic circumstances in the US were difficult, mothers unanimously felt their US-born children were accessing excellent educational opportunities. Finally, some the mothers discussed challenges of parenting in the US such as fear of deportation/losing children and the need to restrict their children indoors due to dangerous neighborhoods.

The themes that emerged from this study highlight the need for sensitive, integrated services to help families cope with issues related to family separation and reunification, parenting in the US, and economic opportunity. Such forums may increase family engagement, and ideally help immigrant families to work towards their goals of providing “better lives” for their young children.

Authors

• Laura Jimenez Parra, University of Maryland, College Park
  Presenting Author

• Brenda Jones-Harden, University of Maryland
  Non-Presenting Author

• Nicole Denmark, University of Maryland College Park
  Non-Presenting Author