Under the Cloud of Deportation Threat: Testimonios Reveal Impact on Mixed-Status Families

Abstract

Stress associated with the threat of deportation is not a new facet of daily life for undocumented immigrants in the United States. An upsurge in antiimmigrant rhetoric and policy has contributed to ever-present anxiety and fear regarding apprehension, detention, and deportation. In this qualitative study of mixed-status immigrant families, the stories (testimonios) of parents and young adult recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) are explored. Their testimonios reveal conflicted feelings about life in America and the relentless strain of living with fear and uncertainty. A portrait emerges of life in small-town America during these troublesome times of mass deportations and family separation. The testimonios, explored through a LatCrit lens, reveal the human side of immigration policy and compel us to contemplate the lived reality of immigrant families with American dreams.