Study: Kids Hurt by Immigration Raids

By OSKAR GARCIA

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — Children whose parents are arrested in immigration raids face mental health problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder, separation anxiety and depression, according to a study released Wednesday.

Researchers visited three cities where officials arrested 900 suspected illegal immigrants in workplace raids over the past year, causing 500 children to abruptly lose contact with their mother, father or both parents.

That left them with a combination of unstable supervision, stress, emotional trauma and material needs that can lead to mental health disorders, according to the study.

"Those children were born in America, and we forgot about their rights during the raids, because they were left parentless," said Steve Joel, superintendent of Grand Island Public Schools, which worked to get parents to keep their children in school following a December raid at the Swift & Co. meatpacking plant. >>continue

Posted in: Children,ICE,Immigration Raids,Mental Health