Examining The Role of Civil Society Organizations in Reducing Inequality for Immigrant Youth

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Bintang

Explores how legal status systems shape the well-being and future prospects of immigrant children, arguing that stratified, unequal authorization regimes intensify disparities. Reviews the expanding enforcement climate—detentions, deportations, and family separation risks—especially after recent policy shifts. Quantifies potential impacts on U.S. citizen children living with undocumented relatives. Proposes research on civil society responses that mitigate harms short term and reduce long-term inequality, while urging attention to institutions and democratic outcomes.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

How Legal Status Shapes Youth Lives and Outcomes

Enforcement Context and Consequences

Civic Society Responses

Conclusion

Examining The Role of Civil Society Organizations in Reducing Inequality for Immigrant Youth Cecilia Menjívar University of California, Los Angeles Suggested Citation Menjívar, C. (2026) . Examining the role of civil society organizations in reducing inequality for immigrant youth. William T. Grant Foundation. [https://](https://)[ ](https://)[wtgrantfoundation.org/digest/examining-the-role-of](wtgrantfoundation.org/digest/examining-the-role-of)civil-society-organizations-in-reducing-inequality-forimmigrant-youth MENJÍVAR • 2026 Introduction Legal status profoundly affects the well-being, opportunities, and futures of children in immigrant families. The immigration control system produces a hierarchy of unequal statuses (Waldinger, Hoffman, & Lai, 2023), ranging from naturalized citizens to lawful permanent residents (or “green card”holders) to various forms of temporary authorization, such as Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) . Atthe same time that this system stratifies access to most public goods, benefits, and rights (Waters & Gerstein Pineau, 2015), legal avenues to obtain more secure statuses have dramatically narrowed in the past decades. Immigrants who cannot access legal avenues to regularize their status become categorized as undocumented (Menjívar, 2023) . Today, immigrants are detained, deported, and separated from their families based on the presumption of“illegality.” For decades, enforcement policies have primarily targeted Latino immigrants, so much so that being Latino on any immigration status and even U. S. -born has become associated with undocumented status (Armenta, 2018; Asad, 2024; Menjívar, 2021; Menjívar et al., 2018; Provine et al., 2015) . However, over the past decade, and especially since January 2025, the enforcement net has been cast far more widely and forcefully, still focusing on Latinos but affecting all immigrant groups across the country. The effects of this new enforcement strategy on immigrant families and their children are impossible to assess as recent events unfold and policies shift. However, a wide swathof the U.S. population will feel its impact. For instance, as of early 2025, an estimated nearly 28.2 million U. S. residents, including 19.5 million Latinos, will live in mixed-status or undocumented households; that is, 1 in 12 total U. S. residents and almost 1 in 3 Latinos live at risk of family separation through deportation (Connor, 2024) . Nationwide, one in four children have at least one immigrant parent (Haley, Gonzalez, Bernstein, & Kenney, 2025) and is therefore currently in the eye of the enforcement storm. An estimated 5.62 million U. S. citizen children live with atleast one undocumented household member—85% of them are under the age of 15, with 2.79 million in elementary and middle school years (Lisiecki, Velasco, & Watson, 2025). For 2.66 million children, the parents in the household are all undocumented (Lisiecki, Velasco, & Watson, 2025) . Thus,“3.8% of all citizen children in the U. S. are at risk of being left with no parent in their home under a mass deportation scenario”(Lisiecki, Velasco, & Watson, 2025). Considering the size of this population and immigrants’ deep social and economic embeddedness in U. S. society, the effect can reverberate across demographic groups beyond the immigrant population. What approaches can reduce inequalities among immigrant children and children of immigrants when current policies aim not only to exclude them from resources and benefits, but to exclude them from the nation altogether? Intoday’s multi-layered, multiagency, multi-pronged enforcement strategies, an increasingly punitive and exclusionary policy context holds profound consequences not just for inequality trends but for the very survival of many immigrant families. This omni-crisis will require researchers to think expansively and recalibrate frameworks to respond to these new forms of inequality, where l

FAQs

How does legal status affect immigrant children’s outcomes?

Legal status determines life chances by influencing access to opportunities, benefits, and rights. Legal uncertainty and unequal authorization systems shape long-term well-being and enduring inequality.

What enforcement trends increase risks for immigrant families and their children?

Enforcement policies have increasingly targeted immigrants based on presumed “illegality,” leading to detention, deportation, and family separation. The scope has widened, affecting more immigrant groups across the country.

Why focus on civil society organizations in reducing inequality?

The essay highlights civil society’s active role in responding to harmful policies. These responses can lessen detrimental effects and help reduce inequalities for immigrant children over time.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Bintang