What Is a Legal Status

3 These deficits also mitigate the level of education of the third generation, although research has not yet estimated the amount of this penalty, as no data has yet been collected on the migration status of third-generation Mexican-American grandparents. As we saw in Chapter 2, legal status has become increasingly important for the integration of immigrants. Most immigrants of the past have not been confronted with the complexity of the contemporary immigration system; As employment opportunities dwindled, social programs were put in place to support immigrants and support integration (Fox, 2012). The presence in the country was generally sufficient to ensure access to public services. However, laws enacted in 1996 under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Accountability Act (IIRIRA), the Reconciliation of Property and Employment Opportunities Act and the Combating Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act have expanded the conditions under which unauthorized immigrants are excluded from local communities and jurisdictions, while restricting access itself. (see Table 3-1). Today, the categories of inclusion and classification in different legal statuses have serious consequences for the daily lives of immigrants and the rights granted to them (Bosniak, 2007). Research in the area of child development shows that the legal status of parents also influences the developmental context of children born in the United States. Parents` undocumented status is associated with lower levels of cognitive development and educational progress in early and middle childhood (Brabeck and Xu, 2010; Ortega et al., 2009; Yoshikawa, 2011).

In adolescence, an undocumented parent is associated with higher levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms (Potochnick and Perreira, 2010). These side effects can occur through a variety of mechanisms. Parents may not have access to means-tested programs for their citizen children because they are concerned about presenting proof of income that could identify their employers. In addition, fear of expulsion can lead to higher levels of chronic stress. Undocumented parents experience poorer working conditions and live in more overcrowded housing conditions than their documented low-income counterparts, which can lead to higher psychological stress for parents and reduced learning opportunities for children, such as. B subsidies for quality childcare (Yoshikawa, 2011, Yoshikawa and Kalil, 2011). McConnell, E.D. (2013). Who has problems with housing affordability?: Differences in the burden of housing costs by race, birth and legal status. Race and Social Problems, 5(3), 173-190.

Temporary, discretionary and, above all, undocumented status negatively affects the ability of immigrants to integrate into different social dimensions. Further research is needed to better understand the relationship between, in particular, temporary legal status and the outcomes of integration. A slightly shorter period for naturalization. However, as with all categories except naturalized U.S. citizens, refugees and asylum seekers do not have the “right to stay.” Refugees and asylum seekers are subject to many of the same grounds for inadmissibility and deportation as other immigrants without citizenship and may be subject to deportation proceedings for criminal conviction and other violations, including immigration fraud. However, when parents are undocumented, their U.S.-born children often experience several negative effects, which in turn affect second-generation starter models (Yoshikawa, 2011). These negative effects include increased parental vulnerability and family destabilization (Thronson, 2008), increased risk of living in a lone-parent household, and loss of income (Dreby, 2015; Landale et al., 2011). As a result, mixed-status families are also more likely to be impoverished than other families (Fix and Zimmerman, 2001). In addition, the undocumented status of parents is also important, as immigrant youth (generation 1:5, see Chapter 1) who are undocumented face different challenges than their adult counterparts (Gleeson and Gonzales, 2012). Legal status restricts the social life of young immigrants who, due to their status in relation to the particular state in which they live, may not be able to obtain a driver`s license or official identity documents, denying them access to adult facilities. Thus, undocumented status influences the socialization of immigrant youth in adulthood (Abrego, 2006; Gonzalez and Chávez, 2012; Gleeson & Gonzalez, 2012). These impacts vary by state and place of residence, as states and locations have some flexibility when it comes to managing social programs and restricting employment and education opportunities for immigrants.

their undocumented status and its impact on their current or future educational and employment prospects (Gonzales, 2011). This process of “learning illegality” has implications for psychological well-being, as some adolescents hide their status from their peers, reduce their educational efforts, and isolate themselves. And in families where children have different legal statuses, inequalities in rights and benefits can exacerbate sibling gaps over the course of life (Menjívar and Abrego, 2009). Conclusion 3-1 Legal status influences the integration of immigrants. Legal permanent resident status has a positive impact on integration, but in 2013, 779,929 people were naturalized, down from the all-time high of 1,046,539 naturalizations in 2008. But in general, the number of naturalizations has been steadily increasing since the 1990s (see Figure 3-2). An LPR who wishes to apply for naturalization may do so after 5 years in LPR status (3 years if married to a U.S. citizen) or after serving with international students who make up an increasingly large portion of the “non-immigrant” population in the United States, both because their numbers are growing rapidly (see Figure 3-10) and because they are an important source of highly skilled labor in the United States. Student visa holders are not allowed to declare a “dual intent” when applying for a visa, but despite this restriction, they have a well-taken indirect path to other statuses, including H-1B and LPR (Ruiz, 2013). LPR status also paves the way for citizenship and political integration.

Although LPR cannot participate in elections where voters must be in the United States…