One of the more harrowing images of the Trump administration was the sight of children confined to cages and separated from their parents after crossing the border with Mexico. Recent research from UCLA explores the impact of such immigration enforcement policies in what is the first systemic analysis of the impact of custody of children by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR).
When unaccompanied children enter the United States, they enter the ORR’s custody at the border. The research assessed data from all such children in custody between November 2017 and August 2019. The analysis found that these children are often highly vulnerable in their own country.
“I think this study gives us a lot of food for thought in terms of considering what is in the best interests of these children, many of whom win asylum cases and end up settling permanently in the United States,” the researchers explain.
Unintended consequences
The unintended consequences of these immigration policies were then explored in a second study, where the impact of the supposed deterrents on migrants’ travel plans was assessed.
The study saw around 6,000 people surveyed from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, which are collectively the four countries with the largest flow of unauthorized migration into the United States.
The analysis found that punitive policies didn’t have a big impact in people’s desire to come to the United States or their willingness to make the difficult journey. The detention process did help to foster a sense that the immigration system in the US isn’t particularly fair, however.
“The reason the article is titled the ‘unintended consequences’ is that these harsh punitive policies don’t have the effect that our policymakers want,” the author explains. “Instead, they have the unintended consequence of spreading a deep distrust of our country abroad.”
They hope that their work will go at least some way towards guiding policymakers towards fairer and more effective long-term solutions to the situation.
“I’m hoping my studies help educate lawmakers in what direction they ought to be going and also what issues are at stake in terms of the kind of care we should be providing, especially to these vulnerable populations,” the author concludes.
