The Psychological, Physical, and Behavioral, Effects of Parental Deportation on Children

Migration to the United States, which pertains to the displacement of individuals, has endured across American history. Immigration is an intricate and serious subject that requires careful analysis and assessment to be comprehended. Deportation, an element of immigration, is a legally sanctioned process in which an individual is forcibly removed from a particular country. In the vast majority of instances, deportation entails the separation of families. The limited research examining the negative effects of deportation and family separation emphasizes the psychological, physical, and behavioral difficulties experienced by children. This thesis discusses children's consequences as internal and external repercussions. Children’s internal issues in deportation include psychological complications such as post-traumatic stress disorders, anxiety, depression, and trauma. Furthermore, children’s external consequences of deportation are discussed as physical, behavioral, and social issues that result in eating disorders, hypervigilance, aggression, and social isolation. With the discussion of family separation in deportation, additional recommendations and guidance are discussed in this thesis for better quality deportations that may lessen children's internal and external effects of family separation.