Responding to Trauma in School-Aged Children Affected By Changing Immigration Policies: A Model for Social Workers

Background & Purpose: Recent turnover in the U.S. political administration has resulted in changes to immigration policies that have increased the prevalence of racism, discrimination, and oppression in society. As a result, children affected by changes in immigration policy have shown an increase in trauma-related symptoms, which adversely affect their well-being. This issue is of high relevance to social workers, who are committed to advocating for social justice and human rights. One way social workers can respond to these issues is through interdisciplinary collaboration with educational systems to create culturally responsive, trauma informed schools. The purpose of this study is to identify the effects of changing immigration policies on school-aged children and to propose a model for intervention.

Methods: A scoping review was conducted to explore and identify the primary effects of recent national policy changes on non-dominant school-aged children affected by immigration policies, as well as to identify recommendations for intervention. Levac, Colquhoun, and O’Brien’s (2010) advanced framework based on Arksey and O’Malley’s (2005) original scoping review methodology was implemented to enhance methodological quality and rigor. Databases including PsychInfo, ERIC, and social service abstracts, and Pubmed were used to identify publications from the past five years. Consultation with educational stakeholders was used to validate findings and transfer knowledge.

Results: The literature reviewed revealed three distinct themes: (1) The presence of adverse effects in school-aged children is triggered by the recent changes in immigration policies. Effects include instances of social injustices including hate crimes, discrimination, and racism. Among non-dominant children affected by immigration policies. Among this population, such effects have resulted in increased trauma symptoms including internalizing behaviors such as anxiety and depression, as well as externalizing behaviors including decline in school performance and increased absences. (2) School response to these symptoms has been minimal in many instances due to a lack of understanding by school personnel on how to respond to controversial issues (such as racism and discrimination) sparked by concern about addressing political issues in government institutions for fear of repercussions. (3) Existing curriculums have several key components to sensitively address these controversial social issues in schools: deliberately plan a discussion on the controversial topic; identify a unique, contextually appropriate framework for presenting information with a clear purpose identified; educate school personal on knowledge related to the issue and appropriate responses; identify actions that can lead to a positive change in school climate; connect school personnel, families, and children with resources.

Conclusion: There has been an identified increase in trauma symptoms among children affected by immigration policies. These adverse effects have negatively impacted school performance, mental health, and pose potential threats to future well-being. Study results identify applicable content from the existing literature on how schools respond to culture and race-related trauma and controversial, political issues. This information can be synthesized into a culturally responsive, intersectional, trauma-informed model that can be used by social workers to advocate for school-aged children adversely affected by changing immigration policies in educational settings where trauma-related symptoms are often first identified.