Confined in the Shadows: The Effect of Deportation Risk and Fear on Public Assistance Participation of Mixed-Status Families Experiencing Domestic Violence

Background and Purpose: Few studies examine the risk of deportation on take-up rates of government-funded social programs by mixed-status families (Fomby & Cherlin, 2004; Vargas, 2011). This paper focuses on mixed-status families in which at least one child is a U.S. citizen and the caretaker parent is living in the U.S. without legal authorization and had separated from their partner due to domestic violence (DV). This study investigates Latina immigrant women’s DV survivorship experiences with an emphasis on the responses the women receive when seeking help for the DV effects. The research questions query: 1) What formal and informal support did undocumented Latina survivors seek for the domestic violence? and 2) How did their immigration status impact the received help from social services and social support networks?

Methods: This qualitative study draws on data from a purposive sample of 20 Latina immigrants living in western Washington State. In-depth semi-structured testimonio interviews were conducted with participants recruited from various programs that assist immigrant DV survivors. All the participants are mothers to U.S.-born children. Sixteen women migrated from Mexico, two from El Salvador, and two from Guatemala. Attention is given to their interactions with informal social support networks (e.g. friends, family) and formal help-seeking efforts (e.g. calling the police) to illustrate their intersectional survivorship process. A semi-structured interview guide is used to facilitate the interviews. Thematic analyses are conducted via a collaborative and iterative coding process of the interview transcriptions.

Results: Undocumented women survivors confront harsh realities after they leave a violent partner, especially if they have to financially provide as single parents. The need for assistance increases when the DV survivor parent is unable to secure economic security since they have limited employment options because of their undocumented status. Findings indicate that both parents’ immigration status impact their participation in public assistance program for which their U.S.-born children are eligible. The barriers increase as DV survivors are leaving their abusive partners and their deportation fears intensify. Most undocumented survivors report various myths about the expected outcomes if they pursue the help. Informal and formal help-seeking systems impact the confusion about accessing public assistance programs for the children. This includes beliefs that the children will be removed from the home or will have to pay back the money when they become adults.

Conclusions and Implications: This inquiry addresses compelling social welfare concerns that arise for undocumented immigrant DV survivors that predominantly arrived after the 1996 welfare reform era. They are also situated in a historical context inundated with anti-immigrant sentiments. Living in the shadows of society and avoiding deportation deters DV survivors from seeking public services for their U.S. citizen children protected under the 14th Amendment to access these entitlement programs. In practice, there is confusion about what state and federal level benefits are available to qualified mixed status families. Implications for social work practices and policies require culturally-informed decisions that can be offered by formal/informal support networks. Mixed-status children need to be precisely the target government safety-net programs aim to serve.