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Immigrants raising citizens : undocumented parents and their young children / Hirokazu Yoshikawa.

Title: Immigrants raising citizens : undocumented parents and their young children / Hirokazu Yoshikawa.
Author: Yoshikawa, Hirokazu
Publication: New York : Russell Sage Foundation, ©2011.

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Status	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Request for On-site Use Request Scan How do I pick up this item and when will it be ready?	Text	Request in advance	JV6600 .Y67 2011	Off-site

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Description

xi, 196 pages : illustrations, maps; 24 cm

Summary

"Immigrants Raising Citizens challenges conventional wisdom about undocumented immigrants, viewing them not as lawbreakers or victims, but as the parents of citizens whose adult productivity will be essential to the nation's future. The book's findings are based on data from a three-year study of 380 infants from Dominican, Mexican, Chinese, and African American families, which included in-depth interviews, in-home child assessments, and parent surveys. The book shows that undocumented parents share three sets of experiences that distinguish them from legal-status parents and may adversely influence their children's development: avoidance of programs and authorities, isolated social networks, and poor work conditions. Fearing deportation, undocumented parents often avoid accessing valuable resources that could help their children's development--such as access to public programs and agencies providing child care and food subsidies. At the same time, many of these parents are forced to interact with illegal entities such as smugglers or loan sharks out of financial necessity. Undocumented immigrants also tend to have fewer reliable social ties to assist with child care or share information on child-rearing. Compared to legal-status parents, undocumented parents experience significantly more exploitive work conditions, including long hours, inadequate pay and raises, few job benefits, and limited autonomy in job duties. These conditions can result in ongoing parental stress, economic hardship, and avoidance of center-based child care--which is directly correlated with early skill development in children. The result is poorly developed cognitive skills, recognizable in children as young as two years old, which can negatively impact their future school performance and, eventually, their job prospects. Immigrants Raising Citizens has important implications for immigration policy, labor law enforcement, and the structure of community services for immigrant families. In addition to low income and educational levels, undocumented parents experience hardships due to their status that have potentially lifelong consequences for their children. With nothing less than the future contributions of these children at stake, the book presents a rigorous and sobering argument that the price for ignoring this reality may be too high to pay."--From publisher description.

Uniform Title

Project Muse UPCC books

Subject

Bibliography (note)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Terms of Use (note)

Current Copyright Fee: GBP40.64

Processing Action (note)

committed to retain

Contents

Emiliana, Elena and Ling raise citizens in New York City -- The hidden face of New York: undocumented immigrant parents' routes to the city -- Life under the radar: legal and illegal authorities and public programs -- Documentation status and social ties: households, networks, and organizations in the lives of undocumented parents and their children -- The worst jobs in urban America: undocumented working parents in the New York economy -- How parents' undocumented status matters for children's early learning -- Providing access to the American dream for the children of undocumented parents.

ISBN

9780871549860
0871549867

LCCN

2010050216

OCLC

682894808

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library