Dr Melanie Griffiths explains what the mass deportations Trump has promised will mean for families if he wins the election.
“Tomorrow the US decides who wins the race for the Whitehouse. If Donald Trump is successful, he has pledged to deport nearly 20 million people from America.
Deportation affects a much wider pool of people than just the individuals deported. I led research in the UK looking at the impact of deportation on people’s families. We found that deportees’ partners and children are acutely affected, even though they were not themselves deported. They experience a wide range and often extreme level of harm, including to their mental and physical health, careers, housing, financial security, and ability to parent. People are made significantly sicker, poorer, and unhappier.
Children face particular injury from the loss of a parent through deportation, which often entails lengthy – even permanent – separation across borders. The stresses damage children’s standard of living, developmental trajectory, schooling, mental health and psychological wellbeing.
Even when they were British citizens, both adults and children expressed a weakening of their sense of national belonging and identity because of the experience of their loved ones.
The harm done to the families left behind stretches well beyond the act of deportation. If Trump’s deportations go ahead, we can expect millions of US residents and citizens to be significantly damaged in the process, with long-term impacts for the whole nation.”
Birmingham Fellow
Staff profile - Dr Melanie Griffiths - School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences. Dr Griffiths is a social scientist, working on mobility and immigration enforcement in the UK.
