Immigration and the Effects on Children

​
By: Jisel Vazquez
Passages 1
9/12/16
Garvey Passages Teacher
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The people who are most affected by immigration policies are children due to the fact

that they are affected socially, psychologically, and there are even effects of stress that have the

same responses as post traumatic stress disorder. They are affected the most because they do not

have a decision in if whether they move or not.

Children are affected by immigration policies in many ways, but the most important

would be the fact that they are affected psychologically. These children have to leave everything

they know. They have to leave their school, friends, home, and family. This everything that they

grew up in. When these children arrive to a new country they have to enroll in a new school, and

make new friends. Making new friends can be hard especially if you do not know most of the

language. These immigrant children will get bullied because they are different and they do not

know the language, and they will get looked down on. Not only do they have to worry about

getting bullied but they also have to worry about getting discriminated by the teacher, teachers

are supposed to be there to support them and teach them, and are supposed to help them feel

comfortable but instead they discriminate against them, they judge the children based on who

they are and whether they fit in or not. Being an immigrant child facing discrimination is hard

especially if you are of young age . At that age they are starting to learn how they fit in their

family. Research was conducted by Migration Policy Institute (MPI) regarding the fact on how

children feel when they are being discriminated and how it affects their character development.

Also when children are being discriminated on by the teachers they start to have a negative view

on the education that they want to have. They start to feel worse about their academic abilities

they also feel like they do not belong in school because they are being compared to students that

do not have to face as much of a struggle as they do they are immigrants.

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Not only are they affected by discrimination but because of the discrimination they suffer

from stress which leads to responses similar to those with PTSD. The symptoms of PTSD are

flashbacks, sever anxiety, fear,and mistrust. Those are only the psychological affects their mood

can change they could lose interest in things that are suppose to be pleasurable they could also

feel lonely and guilt they could have problems with sleep such as insomnia and nightmares.

When being an immigrant you will not always fit in with society because immigrants

were born in a different place and they were raised in a different way. Countries work in a

different ways; everything is different from the stores to even the way that traffic moves. Life in

the U.S is so fast paced.When these immigrant children arrive to the U.S they are not used to the

American lifestyle. Because of the fact that life is so different, countries have different social

expectations. Anything can be different for several countries even from the way that you make

friends or how the friend system works for example a groups of young friends in the United

States could pass the time or hang out by going to the movies and going out for dinner but in a

less developed country where these immigrant children might be coming from a group of friends

might hang out by just walking around, play soccer or any sports because they do not have any

other place to hang out like the American children do. Sometimes they play with what is

available The immigrant children do not only get bullied by their teachers but they also get

bullied by their peers. They get bullied because they are different, they get bullied because they

do not have the nice expensive clothes, the expensive Nike or Jordan shoes that are always in

style that every kid has or because they do not have the $700 smart phone. The immigrant

children get bullied because they are simple, simple in the way that they do not have the nice

shoes, clothes, technology, and even a big nice house.The children have the dirty shoes and just a
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simple t-shirt and pants and they have no phone that is how simple they ar they do not have a

complex life style that the American people have. They are quiet because they have nobody to

talk to except for their family and their family is going through the same thing maybe even worse

if they are the parents.

Another way that they are affected socially is a new school not only do they have to

worry about making new friends but they have to worry about getting new to a new school.

Schools all over the world do not work the same usually in the united States the school hours last

all day usually 7 hours but in other countries the school hours could only be half a day for

example in Mexico there is two different times that a student could go to school they could go to

school in the morning say from 8 A.M till 12 P.M or they could start school at 1 P.M. and end at

6 P.M. So when they arrive in the United States they have to go to school all day they start 8

A.M and do not get out until 3 P.M. so they are at school for about 7 hours. The changes are hard

on them they might have to get up early to catch the bus because when you are immigrants you

might not have your own way of transportation they start early because in the United States the

lifestyle is so fast paced.

It is a new environment. They move to a new house they might have to move to an

apartment where they have many people living around them and that could be very different to

them. Like I said before the lifestyle in the United States is so fast paced the United States also

has very big cities not to say that other countries do not have big cities but every countries cities

work different even from the way that traffic operates.Especially in the big cities for example

New York there is always traffic and people are always on the go it could be hard to get use to.
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What happens before the children move? They have to go through the legal process if the

immigrants have family in the United States those family member could sign a petition, they also

need to say how they can sponsor you but also if they have enough income to help support you.

But there is multiple steps to take, but that process could take a long time. The process could take

months even up to a year but through that process you have to make appointments you have to

have paper work it is not only getting the paperwork to worry about they also have to have

enough money to start the process and especially if it is for a family they have to have a lot

money. They have to get interviewed because of that they might even have to travel to a different

part of their country because they have to get interviewed in a United States embassy.

When and if the immigrants arrive to the United States the problems continue they have

to worry about a job that they could get and that they would be able to keep they they have to

find a place to live. Of course all these things are required in order to try to become a citizen they

have to have someone to help support them at least until they are stable and can provide for

themselves or their family, but it does not always happen that way

This image represents the steps on the process of getting a visa.

1. “The family member has to write a petition on how they could sponsor the immigrants

and if they have enough income to help support the immigrants. After they write the

petition they have to submit it” This information comes from U.S Department of State

and they handle the United States immigration process.

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2. If and after the petition if approved the National Visa Center (NVC) has to handle and

process certain documents they have to send them to the U.S. embassies and consulates.

The immigrants have to choose an agent and they also have to pay their fees. ​"​The

Immigrant Visa Process."

3. They have to collect and submit forms to the NVC. They have to submit Visa application

forms.Their financial documents get collected​"The Immigrant Visa Process."

4. The final step is to get interviewed. Before the interview the applicant must schedule a

complete medical examination they also must have all the required vaccinations. They

also have to gather all the documents that are needed for the interview before the

interview. The applicant must attend the interview but also anyone is is immigrating with

the applicant but if any other immigrant is planning on immigrating at a different time

than they do not need to attend the interview but that is only if they are all on the same

paperwork. They will be scheduled for a separate interview. While at the interview the

applicant has to bring all the paperwork such as appointment letters, passport, medical

examination results, and all original documents. After the interview the counselor will

inform the applicant whether the application for the visa is approved or not.​"The

Immigrant Visa Process."

The reason that this source is reliable is because it is the United States government and the United

States government and they make and enforce the laws .

In a whole the image shown at the end represent the process and waiting time that

the applicants have to wait for they have to wait for a long time from months even up to a

year.
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During the process of waiting for the interview it is recommended by the United States

U.S. Visas Department of State- Bureau of Consular Affairs that the applicant make smart

choices,this information that is being presented comes from the United States visas process “Do

not sell your house, car or property, resign from you job or make non-refundable flight or other

travel arrangements until you have received your immigrant visa.” The reason that the

government recommends this is because is unfortunately it would happen but if the person who

applied for the visa does not get the visa and they do any of those things that is recommended

that they do not do it would be bad because they already lost whatever they had. Say that if

someone were a applicant was in the process of waiting for a visa and they did not get accepted

but they sold their house, where would they live? They were hoping to start a new life in a

different country so they sold their house but now they did not get accepted they have nothing

left maybe they never had a car to begin with, now they do not have a place to live. That is why

when the applicant is going through a big possibly life changing process like this it is important

that the applicant makes smart choices also that they do not make the choices fast they should

have time to think about why they are going to say yes or no.

The United States law does limit the number of visas that are available a year but only in

certain categories. So when the applicant applies and has the petition ready and filed the date in

which they do that is called their priority date so the sooner the applicant turns in the paperwork

the better. The applicant does not only have to worry about moving to a different country and all

the other things that go with it but at the beginning of the process they have to have all the

money and paperwork ready at certain time because they might not be able to make it. If they do
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not have the paperwork ready on time, then they will not even get a chance of getting the visa. If

the number of visas does start to get low then the available number of visas will be distributed in

chronological order. If the applicant does not get the visa then they would have to wait till the

next year then they could then apply and maybe get the visa with a better chance.

This next section talks about how immigrant move to other countries but those countries

that they move to are not as developed as they should if in the sense that the immigrant is

looking for a better life but the country does not support those needs of the immigrant.There are

many reasons that immigrants migrate to other countries, one of the most popular reasons is

because they want a better life for themselves. This information comes from UNICEF Office of

research.The following information indicates that many migrants migrate to different countries

that are not really developed. “Evidence indicates that around 40% of migrants leave a

developing country to go to another developing country.” They also say that immigration or

migration contributes to urbanization. One major example of that being when the immigrant

migrated to the United States during the beginning of the 1900s those immigrants started moving

to the United states at a faster pace as time went on it did eventually start to slow down but as the

pace was fast the United States needed more space to house these immigrants so the immigrants

did contribute to building what was needed in the city as well. That showing that the european

immigrants or other immigrants as well moved from rural areas from their home country to

urban areas in the United States those being major cities like New York. They also include that

the immigrants migrate from rural areas to other rural areas sometimes even across borders. It

kind of brings up a question of why would someone migrate from one developing question to

another. That is a big question maybe it is because they do not have enough money to move to a
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country that is already developed and maybe the country that they migrated to has better

opportunities than their home country it might not be as good as if they would have moved to a

developed country. Their lives might be that good but they might be slightly better as if they

lived in their home country. That might be just a small step that they are taking to maybe be able

to have the opportunity to move to a developed country. UNICEF makes an interesting statement

their researchers states that, “Women, men, and children are better off as poorer people.” So

why do the parents decide to move to a whole new country to where they have very little to

nothing and everything is new. It goes back to the quote So why do parents decide to migrate to

different countries and why are children the ones that suffer in the way that they do. It brings it

back to one of the questions being asked in this paper, why are children the ones that suffer the

most when their parents decide to migrate to another country? Children do not make the

decisions in what happens in their lives because of the fact that the parents are responsible for

them until they are 18 years old legally in the like most countries including the United States.

Other countries they say that if you are 15,16,17,19,20,21 years old then they are considered an

adult. Up to whatever point that is, the parents are responsible or should take responsibility for

their child. Children are affected the most because in many ways they are still developing in the

way that their character changes and every time their character changes they need more support.

According to the California Department of Education when a child reaches the age of 11 years

old through the age of 14 years old their personality changes a lot they become more independent

they start to think more like an adult they often feel confused but their opinion means the most to

them. Friends are most important to them and they start to move away from their family. They

do things that adults do not approve of but they still need rules set for them by adults. Like
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previously stated those different changes they have different necessities and the necessities

through those ages even though they are drifting away from their family they need their family to

be there for them no matter what they need to laugh a lot and also play a lot because they have a

lot to deal with they are teenagers and they have to deal with drama and other things. They need

a lot of encouragement even though they do not always make the right decisions. They also need

privacy and their own space because of the fact the they are becoming more independent they

need to feel like they have freedom but no to much freedom.

It is not only legal immigration that is affecting the children but illegal immigration as

well. The children might be legal because they were born in the United States so that makes them

citizens but the parents might not be citizens. These children grow up their whole life in the

United States because that is where they were born and that is there home. Then all of a sudden

their parents get deported and these children get left in the United States with no parents yes they

might have other family members to live with and take care of them but to have lost their parent

out of nowhere it will be very difficult to deal with and what if they don't have any other family

members to stay with then they will have to got through the process of the government finding

them a new home to stay with and if it is multiple children then there is a possibility that the

siblings will get separated and that is not good for them either.There are similar affected that

children get when they get separated from their parents and they are similar to when and how

they are affected in during the immigration process but here are also a lot of other effects it has

such as child development, poor attachment formation,developmental delay, poor physical

development, and also anti social behavior. Even though those effects are not directly from
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immigration and they are through foster care they are still a part of the effects that immigration

has.

As stated in the previous paragraph immigration is not the only thing that affects children

but it contributes to other factors of children being affected. Meaning that it contributes to the

stress,PTSD, Psychological, and even character development. The children do not have to be

directly affected in the sense that they are the ones being deported but they are affected in the

way that their parent, grandparents or even friends it affects them emotionally and it hurts them

these situations happen so suddenly happens that the children are not prepared in any way on

how to deal with this type of situation. Immigration affects a lot of people in the way that it

causes emotional and even physical.

Immigration not only leads to bad effects but it also leads to good effects being that when

they move they could learn new skills on how to change their lifestyle the learn new ways on

how their new world that they live in works. In sense they become more aware because they are

being exposed to a world that is completely new to them it works different than what they are

used to they have to in a way sort of adapt to their environment because it is their new

environment.they become smarter in the way that they learn new skills they might have to learn a

new language,new even up to new job skills.Not even are the immigrants changing and making

a better life for themselves but also they might be trying to help their family member back home

that might need help financially.Having to support family back home it puts more pressure on the

children because the more money a person wants to more work hey have to put in that means that

the parent work more and when the parents work more and then when will the children see their

parent.​That is just another problem that the children have to face with not seeing their parent
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studies have shown that when children grow up without their parent especially without a fatherly

figure when the children get older the children are more likely to go to jail the usually tend to be

alcoholics and drug addicts life become harder because they try to find something to comfort

them because they never got that comfort from their parents.Also children who grow up without

their parents or even have to deal with not seeing their parents as much as they should grown up

with low self-esteem,negative behavior,difficulties bonding,and emotional distress.

With negative behavior usually boys look up to their fathers to see if they are good

enough to be men. That affects the children a lot because the father is supposed to be the man of

the house and yes even though they are out working to provide for their family the children do

not see them as much because of the fact they are working so much. But as time goes on society

sets a standard for men saying that yes they do need to be the providers but of how they earn that

money and what they do with their money. This quote basically states that a father is measured

on how they earn the money and not how they are at home and how they are good fathers also

their status in society is dependent on how much they work and how they get their money.”The

father's position in the family was no longer determined by how well he functioned as a father,

but was scored by his status in the eyes of the world, in a set of economic contests in which there

were few men winning by being the richest of them all, and most men losing.” That information

coming from Psychology Today. Also contributing to negative behavior without the parents

especially the father's approval they children start to have emotional pain especially with boy

they usually tend to think they need to prove themselves “These include intense competition with

other boys, engaging in risky behaviors, and criminal “tough guy” behavior intended to scare the

world into seeing them as men.​”​That quote coming from our everyday life it states that especially
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boys tend to change who they are to prove themselves because they want to get approval from

their parents especially from their fathers.Also growing up with hardly seeing their fathers it can

affect to boys in the future because when they lack seeing their fathers or not having a good

relationship with their fathers or in this case a good bond like fathers and parent should it cause

the boys to have a hard time bonding with their children in the future that is if they want or will

have children. The way that it causes them to have a hard time bonding is because they did not

really have a good bond or relationship with their father so they do not know how to get that

connection with their children.”Men who grow up without a father figure also have more

problems bonding with their own children, writes Hartwell-Walker. Having never experienced a

father-son bond, they are unsure of how to develop that relationship with their own children.”

That information also coming from our everyday life.The reason that growing up without parents

especially fathers affects the children a lot is because they need someone to guide them and show

they right from wrong which they also get from their mothers but the father is supposed to be the

one who enforces are out working for their family to support them and that might be the big

reason that they moved to a different country to have a better life but the parents also need to be

present at home and have a good bond with their children because if the children do not have that

it will not only affect them in the moment but it could also affect them in the future. and provides

for them and as previously stated usually the boys seek for approval from their fathers. Along

with that when the children move to a different country or to wherever they are moving to

especially the United States they have a chance of having a better life in the sense of having a

better education they could have a chance of going to college if they can afford it or if they get a

scholarship to try to get into college but as many people know college is very expensive and
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knowing that when immigrants come to the United States they come with little to nothing

especially if they are illegal immigrants. When they are immigrants they have to work much

more than the average american citizen because the american citizen have more of a stable

lifestyle they have a good ob that they could rely on they have a comfortable job but as for

immigrants they have job that are hard to deal with and they pay little money they pay enough

money to get by with for the week they have jobs to where they have to do construction

sometimes they work from sunrise to sundown they have to work in the winter when it is cold

and usually working in construction means working outside, not saying that only immigrants

work in construction because they do not but they just have to endure more from less in the way

that they sometimes work more for less money.The way that this affects the children is they have

to worry about how their parents are doing and how their parents are being affected a s well

when they should not be worrying about big things like that they should be worrying about being

a kid and having fun they should not have to worry about is my dad going to get sick because it

is cold or what time will he get home or even get hurt because he works in construction.They

children have to worry about when will they get to see their mom because she works 3 jobs at

different times of the day.They do not have to worry about that.

Being an immigrant child means that the children have to mature more, as previously

stated they become more aware that not everything and everyone is the same they become aware

that the world is different. Everybody has their opinion and there choice to do what they want

and the immigrant children start to realize that. They will start to realize that not everything is the

same and in different countries and different cultures have different views on what to do and that

they also value different things.

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The whole reasons that children are the most affected with immigration is because they

do not have an opinion in what could and possibly would happen they do not call the shots

because the parents are in charge and the parents are supposed to make big decisions like where

and if they are going to move especially to another country. The children are only supposed to

follow the parents in their decisions, sure the children could stay in their home country but only

if the parents but that would be the point of staying in their home country if they are trying to

have a better life. The whole reason for people to migrate is because they want a better lifestyle

they want to be sure that they can some type of government that will have a good economy to

rely on that, they want to be able rely on an economy that is not like their economy back home.

There are many push and pull factors of why people migrate to different countries

● lack of services

● lack of safety

● high crime

● crop failure

● drought

● flooding

● poverty

● War

That information is coming from the BBC website and those are the reasons that people move

from their home country so there is a whole bunch of different reasons that people are forced to a

different country because the new country that they are planning on moving to is much better.

● higher employment
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● more wealth

● better services

● good climate

● safer, less crime

● political stability

● more fertile land

● lower risk from natural hazards

Those reasons that are shown before also come from the BBC website but they are the benefits

that the other or more developed country has and that is what the immigrants are attracted to.

That had to do with the economic development that the different countries have and the

economic status of the country is the reason that immigrants make the decision to move. Not

only does it have to deal with the economic status in the sense of the money but it also had to

deal with how the government is and how to government operates but also on how the

government treats the people and how the country is ran by the government.

One of the big part of why the immigrant children face struggles is because the are

subject to stereotypes like, they are all illegal,rapists,drug dealers,they take jobs,do not pay taxes

so they basically do not benefit the government. It also does not help when important public

figures lead racist and careless remarks against immigrants but he also promotes the use of

stereotypes he is an example of the reasons why immigrants are oppressed. This quote is coming

from NY Daily News and it was said by Donald Trump himself​ “​Donald Trump kicked off his

campaign on June 16, 2015 with a speech in which he labeled immigrants from Mexico "rapists"

and criminals. "When Mexico sends it people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending

you. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with
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us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are

good people," that was said the day that he kicked off his campaign and the way he is an

example is a big part of why those stereotypes are set. The reason he is a big impact is because

he is an important public figure so when he has his followers they will follow what he says and

they will support everything he does and says.

When people decide to migrate do they know what will happen when they get to the new

country do they know what awaits them? They are going to the United States for the American

dream they are going to America to try to have a better life they want to start all over and have a

fresh start. The children are the most effected as previously stated because the are not the

decision make and they are not affected in one way but in many ways all the problems are

interconnected and they have little to no way out of it.

Works Cited

Brown, Christia Spears. "The Educational, Psychological, and Social Impact of Discrimination on
the Immigrant Child." ​Migrationpolicy.org​. N.p., 11 Jan. 2016. Web. 06 Oct. 2016.

"The Immigrant Visa Process." U.S. Department of State. U.S. Department of State,
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n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2016.

UNICEFInnocenti. "Migration and Children." UNICEF-IRC. N.p., n.d. Web.

15 Nov. 2016.

"Ages and Stages of Development." Ages and Stages of Development - Child Development (CA
Dept of Education). California Department of Education, 200. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.

Pittman, Frank. "Fathers and Sons." ​Psychology Today​. N.p.,

1 Sept. 1993. Web. 13 Dec. 2016.

Edelman, Adam. "A look at Trump's most outrageous comments about Mexicans.
" ​NY Daily News​. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Dec. 2016.