Applying a Community Violence Framework to Understand the Impact of Immigration Enforcement Threat on Latino Children

Oct 15, 2026

Ecological–transactional model guides a review of scholarship on how immigration enforcement threats shape Latino child development. Using the World Health Organization’s definition of violence, the review synthesizes findings across psychology, medicine, and social and developmental work to show that everyday anti-immigrant climate conditions can function as psychological violence. Emphasis is placed on how uncertainty and threatened familial safety in immigrant households harms children’s well-being, with implications for researchers, educators, and practitioners.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages24

Reading Time1 h 0 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Background and Editorial Context

Zero Tolerance Policy and Family Separation

Expected Impacts on Children’s Health and Development

Latino Children’s Fear and Responses

Perception of Political Rhetoric as Psychological Violence

Summary and Broader Context

|

| | Volume 31, Number 3 | 2018
Social Policy Report | | --- | --- | --- | Applying a Community Violence Framework to Understand the Impact of Immigration Enforcement Threat on Latino Children R. Gabriela Barajas-Gonzalez, NYU Langone Health Cecilia Ayón, University of California, Riverside Franco Torres, Catholic Charities Community Services ABSTRACT Heeding the call put out by the New England Journal of Medicine (2017), we utilize an ecological–transactional model as a conceptual framework for understanding existing literature and for guiding future research on immigration enforcement threat and Latino child development. Using the World Health Organization’s definition of violence, we draw on literature from psychology, medicine, social work, and developmental psychology to outline how the anti-immigrant climate in the United States and the threat of immigration enforcement practices in everyday spaces are experienced by some Latino children as psychological violence. Researchers, teachers, and practitioners are encouraged to be aware of how uncertainty and threat regarding familial safety adversely impacts the lives of Latino children in immigrant households, especially in charged, anti-immigrant climates. Corresponding author: R. Gabriela Barajas-Gonzalez ( [ritagabriela.barajas-gonzalez@nyumc.org](ritagabriela.barajas-gonzalez@nyumc.org) ) Author note: We thank the many colleagues and reviewers who provided thoughtful insights and editing to this manuscript. We also thank the hundreds of children, families, health care and education providers who participated in the studies cited in this review. Social Policy Report | 1 Social Policy Report Volume 31, Number 3 | 2018 ISSN 1075-7031 Social Policy Report is published four times a year by the Society for Research in Child Development. EDITORIAL TEAM Lead Editor Ellen Wartella, PhD [ellen-wartella@northwestern.edu](ellen-wartella@northwestern.edu) Assistant Editor Fashina Aladé [alade@u.northwestern.edu](alade@u.northwestern.edu) Editorial Board P. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale, PhD Sandra Waxman, PhD David Figlio, PhD Craig Garfield, MD Neil Jordan, PhD Terri Sabol, PhD David Uttal, PhD Diane Schanzenbach, PhD Dedre Gentner, PhD Matthew M. Davis, MD Amelie Petitclerc, PhD Rachel Flynn, PhD SRCD Policy Staff Martha Zaslow, PhD Patricia Barton, MPP Anna Kimura Science Writer Anne Bridgman Manager of Publications Chris Asher FROM THE EDITOR This is an especially timely Social Policy Report. Since the Trump administration’s introduction of a Zero Tolerance Policy regarding illegal immigration across our southern border with Mexico this past April, we have witnessed a remarkable series of events in which parents and children have been forcibly separated when arriving in the United States. Public outcry about these actions led the president to limit this separation policy, but the fate of over 2,000 children who have already been separated from parents and sent around the country to more than a dozen places has not yet been resolved. SRCD’s central office issued an advisory about the likely impact of such separation for children’s welfare on June 20th: The recent U. S. Immigration practice of separating children from their families at the border will be halted, and we at SRCD are relieved at this overdue change in policy. Yet, clear evidence indicates that trauma of separation during the highly stressful circumstances the affected children have experienced can have lasting effects. SRCD stands on the science and urges the immediate reunification of these children and their families, as well as dedicated attention to their ongoing well-being. This Social Policy Report provides a strong review of the social science literature around this critical policy issue and demonstrates several important points. First, it reiterates the concern of the negative impact on children’s health and

FAQs

What framework does the report use to understand immigration enforcement threat on Latino children?

It uses an ecological–transactional model as a conceptual framework to integrate existing literature and guide future research.

How does the report define violence in relation to children’s experiences?

Drawing on the World Health Organization’s definition of violence, it outlines how the anti-immigrant climate and enforcement threats in everyday spaces can be experienced by some Latino children as psychological violence.

What long-term impacts does the report connect to the enforcement climate and family separation?

It links these conditions to enduring effects on health and development, including cognitive and social-emotional trauma, increased risks related to depression, anxiety, and fear, and behavioral responses such as skipping school and acting out.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Quinn Holloway