Statement on the Impacts of Forced Family Separation and Detention

California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists
February 25, 2022

The California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT) recognizes the detrimental impact of forced family separation and detention on immigrant individuals, their families, and their communities. Beginning in the 21st century, the immigration policy of the United States (U.S.) has focused on enforcement, leading to forced and involuntary separation of families and practices that promote migration restrictions (Dreby, 2015). The U.S. has a long history of changing its immigration policies contingent on the presidential administration in power and the sociopolitical events of the time. The implementation of the Consequence Delivery System in 2011, under President Obama, created a new approach to immigration that focused on deterrence to entry and increased persecution and detention of undocumented immigrants at the U.S. and Mexico border (Slack et al., 2015). The practice of family separations, another deterrence method, was enforced through the Zero Tolerance policy begun during President Trump’s administration. Over the six weeks in which the Zero Tolerance policy was active, thousands of children and adolescents were forcibly separated from their parents or primary caregivers (Stange & Stark, 2019). The Department of Homeland Security later reported that many children and adolescents had also been separated prior to the official enforcement of the Zero Tolerance Policy. In total, it is estimated that 5,300-5,500 children and adolescents were separated from their families (Congressional Research Service, 2021).

Forced and involuntary family separations are traumatic and have lasting impacts on the physical and mental health of children, parents, and communities. As a result of forced family separations, children and adolescents often experience multiple and chronic emotional, behavioral, and cognitive challenges that are detrimental to their development and their physical and mental health (Rojas-Flores et al., 2017; Zhao & Egger, 2020). Mounting evidence shows that the toxic stress from family separation translates into neurobiological and epigenetic alterations that increase the risk of psychopathology and ill health later in life (Society for Research in Child Development, 2018). Among parents, family separation is associated with diminished mental and physical health outcomes, as well as with disruption of interpersonal support networks and family relationships (Muñiz de la Peña et al., 2019; Ojeda et al., 2020). Even if families are reunited, the negative consequences of forced family separation remain (Stange & Stark, 2019). Indeed, migration-related family separations challenge attachment bonds and can fuel long-lasting feelings of abandonment, guilt, and shame (Conway et al., 2020).

Forced family separations are disruptive to vital family dynamics and give way to disturbing social and community environments that place families at risk of harmful sequelae. Although the concept of family may be understood differently across cultural contexts, forced family separations tend to have similar effects on people regardless of geographic background (Rousseau et al., 2011). The harmful effects of parental separation as an Adverse Childhood Experience have been well documented since the 1990s (Felitti et al., 1998). Forced family separations often lead to economic hardship, housing instability, food insecurity, and family dissolution, and damage the health and social functioning of immigrant families (Yoshikawa, 2011). On a community level, forced family separations are harmful in that they increase fear and mistrust of law enforcement, institutions, and organizations in positions of power, which contributes to isolation, marginalization, inequities, and the loss of opportunities for social advancement in immigrant communities (Dreby, 2012). The fear and mistrust also deter families experiencing separation or detainment from seeking needed health services or resources because they fear retaliation (Garcini et al., 2016).

Efforts to address and mitigate the detrimental impacts of forced family separations and detainment require action on both governmental and community fronts. CAMFT recommends greater focus on the following areas:

• Congressional committees should develop consistent policies that prevent forced family separations and detainment by providing direct and concise oversight related to immigration procedures, detention of immigrants, and treatment of undocumented immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers—particularly children and adolescents. CAMFT recommends that any oversight committee at the federal or local level be staffed with significant representation from individuals who identify as immigrants themselves and who are members of immigrant communities in the U.S. It is imperative that the impacted community have a seat at the table.
• Educational institutions and licensing boards can increase the delivery of trauma-informed training to marriage and family therapists, other mental health and medical providers, law enforcement, and other professionals who interact with children, adolescents, and parents experiencing family separation and/or detention. Specifically, professionals should be trained on the developmental, psychological, and physical impacts of forced separation on the family system. Mental health resources and interventions should be culturally and contextually tailored to meet the needs of families. Recent innovations have been developed to assist MFTs and other mental health providers to increase their cultural competencies so they can deliver more effective services to immigrant families (Cadenas et al., in press; Torres Fernandez et al., 2015).
• Healthcare professionals, including mental health teams in clinics and hospitals, can partner with community organizations and nontraditional sources of service delivery such as schools, faith-based organizations, and advocacy groups as part of a coordinated effort to provide counseling, basic necessities, health services, and resources to families facing forced separation and/or detention. Schools may take steps to offer a safe place for immigrant youth to discuss their fears and connect with social services, health services, and other resources as needed. Churches can provide a safe space for parents and families to access mental health services (Parra-Cardona et al., 2021). Nonprofit community organizations can help immigrant families obtain legal and social services. In these ways, local institutions can help immigrant families to heal and develop trust in their new communities. Specific recommendations for how school and community organizations can begin to make structural changes in collaboration with mental health professionals have been outlined in recent publications (Cadenas et al., 2019; Cadenas et al., 2021).
• Policymakers and providers can engage in respectful dialogue about immigration that helps identify practical, proactive, evidence-based solutions rather than reinforce anti-immigrant rhetoric and practices that support forced family separations and detention. Opening avenues for communicating about controversial immigration issues in ways that facilitate understanding of different perspectives must be a priority. This requires building avenues for learning about immigrant communities and disseminating information to destigmatize immigrant families.
• The U.S. asylum system should prioritize trauma-informed care for immigrant children, families, and adults and coordinate care with social service entities to ensure the delivery and continuity of appropriate medical and mental health services. Recent scholarship has expanded the framework of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) to include immigration processes and experiences (Barajas-Gonzalez et al., 2021). Marriage and family therapists, all mental health providers, and others serving immigrant families need to be cognizant of these evolving frameworks.
• Policymakers, licensing boards, and healthcare providers should remain cognizant of their own implicit biases and the language used when speaking and writing about these issues with the recognition that reinforcing anti-immigration rhetoric negatively impacts society as well as individuals. The American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Association for Medical Colleges (AAMC) recently published a guide for language, narrative, and concepts aimed at encouraging the use of language that promotes health equity and does not stigmatize (AAMC, 2021). The American Psychological Association (APA) also offers inclusive language guidelines for responsive action and rhetoric when working with communities that historically have been marginalized, including immigrants.
• Health providers, including mental health providers, who provide direct care to immigrant families need to stay informed about immigration laws and policies as well as facilitate access to critical resources that help immigrants build community, engage in advocacy, and increase connectedness and empowerment. Strong therapeutic relationships offer mental health providers the opportunity to dispel myths, promote a positive healing experience, elicit strengths, and cultivate resilience.

This statement was created in collaboration with Latinx Immigrant Health Alliance (LIHA) for publication at www.camft.org. Individual contributors to the development of this statement include:

• Luz M. Garcini, PhD, MPH, from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio;
• German Cadenas, PhD, from Lehigh University;
• Melanie Domenech Rodriguez, PhD, from Utah State University;
• Alfonso Mercado, PhD, from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley;
• Manuel Paris, PsyD, and Michelle Silva, PsyD, from Yale University;
• Amanda Venta, PhD, from the University of Houston;
• Holly Daniels, Managing Director of Clinical Affairs, CAMFT; and
• Robin Andersen, Juan Gavidia, Ronald Mah, and Lisa Romain, CAMFT Social Policy Task Force.

Any correspondence or inquiries regarding CAMFT Social Policy Statements should be addressed to communications@camft.org.  For additional information about LIHA , click here. 

The CAMFT Board of Directors has prioritized the publishing of Social Policy Statements to raise understanding and awareness about the impact of social and systemic issues on mental health and well-being, and to emphasize the importance of culturally responsive training for mental health clinicians.

CAMFT develops these positions and responds to social issues relevant to the practice of psychotherapy, mental health policy, and social concerns impacting the mental health of individuals, families, and communities in California in order to guide the profession, amplify the voices of marriage and family therapists, educate the public, and influence decision makers.

CAMFT is aware that social justice issues are dynamic developmental processes responsive to evolving social, political, economic, and other world circumstances, as well as clinical, ethical, and legal considerations. This statement is both a commitment on the part of CAMFT to address these issues and intended to provoke discourse and evolution in recognition of the realities of members of all communities.

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References

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Barajas-Gonzalez, R. G., Ayón, C., Brabeck, K., Rojas-Flores, L., & Valdez, C. R. (2021). An ecological expansion of the adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) framework to include threat and deprivation associated with US immigration policies and enforcement practices: An examination of the Latinx immigrant experience. Social Science & Medicine, 282, 114126. 

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