Immigration fears disrupt a California teen's schoolwork and family life
A 16-year-old student in San Bernardino worries that her parents could be detained by immigration authorities, affecting her ability to focus on school.
Janet Gonzalez, a 16-year-old high-schooler in San Bernardino, fears that immigration officials may remove her parents, a concern that distracts her from coursework. Her father Marcos, a construction worker who fled El Salvador, currently relies on Temporary Protected Status, a protection that the Supreme Court recently allowed the Trump administration to terminate for certain nationalities, potentially affecting up to 1.3 million migrants, including Salvadorans.
The family is preparing contingency plans, while similar anxieties have led to a drop in attendance across the Los Angeles Unified School District. Studies link immigration raids to poorer academic outcomes and higher rates of PTSD, anxiety, and depression among students. Mental-health experts say the climate forces many immigrant families to avoid government assistance, further worsening health and wellbeing. Janet hopes to graduate in two years, attend nursing school, and support her parents financially despite the ongoing stress.
Why it matters
Immigration policy uncertainty is harming the education and mental health of U.S. children from migrant families.
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