Fragile Families: Foster Care, Immigration, and Citizenship by Naomi Glenn-Levin Rodriguez

Abstract

Recent scholarly discussions related to undocumented and unaccompanied immigrant children have centered on their experiences in school and perceptions of belonging, identity, and citizenship. Against the backdrop of President Trump's election, anti-immigration discourse is at heightened levels, nationally and locally, with the controversial Muslim ban and the comparison of immigrants to criminals, "bad hombres," and even "jihadists" in some state legislation (Rodriguez and Monreal 2017). Additionally, undocumented youth face discrimination at multiple levels of society, such as being targeted through racialized law enforcement practices and having limited access to education and other resources (Arriaga 2017, Gonzales 2016, Rodriguez and Monreal 2017). As such, the task of recent scholarship has been to expose such anti-immigrant discourse and the effects of policy on the everyday lives of immigrant children, as well as elucidate the complicated processes that immigrant children face as they navigate school and other institutions (e.g., deportation centers and children welfare services; see Heidbrink 2014). Scholars such as Gonzales (2011, 2016) have investigated the politics of being undocumented, and how the "master status of illegality" negatively impacts social mobility in the US as youth enter uncertain legal and social contexts. Other scholars have explored how those very youth engage in political activism (Rodriguez 2017).