New U.S. 2010 Report: "Unauthorized Immigrant Parents: Do Their Migration Histories Limit Their Children's Education?"
Prolonging the unauthorized status of illegal immigrants in the United States limits the education of their children, many of who are U.S. citizens, a new RSF-funded report has found. As nearly half of the children of Mexican immigrants in the United States -- nearly 4 million children -- have an unauthorized parent, the report's authors warn that not providing pathways for legalization could create a new underclass.
The study, part of RSF's U.S. 2010 Census project, addresses a controversial issue at the heart of the country's immigration debate: should we offer pathways to legalization for unauthorized immigrants currently in the United States? In analyzing the question, the report, entitled "Unauthorized Immigrant Parents: Do Their Migration Histories Limit their Children's Education," seeks to understand how much legalization matters and how unauthorized status affects children's educational attainment. Here are some of the report's major findings:
- This study is the first to show systematically that for the children of Mexican immigrants, the disadvantages of growing up with unauthorized parents persist into adulthood. The offspring of the unauthorized get significantly less education than those whose parents migrate legally or manage to legalize. Moreover, the number of children with unauthorized parents is sizeable and appears likely to grow.
- The children of Mexican immigrants average 13 years of education, according to survey data from greater Los Angeles. But children whose parents have never legalized average about two fewer years of schooling than those with legal or citizen parents. In other words, the children of unauthorized immigrants typically do not graduate from high school. Statistical controls eliminate only part of that gap.
- The key difference is not whether the Mexican parents entered the United States without papers but whether they remained unauthorized. The amount of schooling rises substantially when either parent or both – but in particular, mothers – find ways to become legal permanent residents. Educational levels go up slightly further still when the parents naturalize.
- By current estimates, about half of the children of Mexican immigrants in the United States, or 3.8 million children, have an unauthorized parent. Until the onset of the Great Recession, this number was growing, and it is likely to do so again as the job market recovers. By not providing pathways to legalization, the United States not only risks creating an underclass, but also fails to develop a potentially valuable human resource.
Written by Mark A. Leach, Frank D. Bean, Susan K. Brown and Jennifer Van Hook, the report can be read and downloaded below. Launched in 2009 with a grant of over $1.2 million to Professor John Logan of Brown University, the U.S. 2010 project is an investigation of the subtle shifts and long-term trends in American life and an analysis of what these developments may mean for the future. You can read more about the project here.
Unauthorized Immigrant Parents - Do Their Migration Histories Limit Their Children's Education