The four children of undocumented farm worker Lucia de la Cruz dive into the bushes on their way home from school when they see anybody who might be an immigration agent.
“They live in fear,” De la Cruz said, afraid they will be deported on the way to or from school in Homestead, Florida. Her children no longer want to attend classes.
“It’s like a ghost that can separate us. I’m the only one left because their father was already deported,” De la Cruz said.
She wants her children to grow up in the U.S., and not in her homeland of Guatemala where she fears the armed gangs that are there.
But “imagine if I am deported; it is just like a death sentence. There is not much justice there,” De la Cruz said.
Reports of recent crackdowns on illegal immigration have sparked alarm among advocates, citizens and immigrants in the United States, who worry about the effects on the children of undocumented parents.
Witnessing a loved one being arrested and deported may have significant effects on the mental health of children, says Lawrence Palinkas, a professor of social policy and health at the University of Southern California.
“The most common impact is anxiety and depression. Anxiety over the lack of stability and security in the family unit,” Palinkas said. “Certainly, children tend to observe very closely the behavior of parents.”
The long-term impacts can vary, he added, from experiencing elevated levels of anxiety and fear to being more likely to report depressive symptoms during adulthood.
Source-VOA
