Experiencing Anti-Immigrant Policies on Both Sides of the U.S./Mexico Borderland: A Comparative Study of Mexican and Iranian Families

Authors

Sandra L. Candel, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow
Shahla Fayazpour, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-18-2019

Publication Title

Education Sciences

Publisher

MDPI

Volume

9

Issue

2

First page number:

1

Last page number:

14

Abstract

The experiences of Mexican and Iranian immigrant families are often unheard and unpacked. The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine how race, ethnicity, and national identity are at the core of the sociopolitical and economic issues that Latino and Iranian families undergo in the United States. Using critical race theory as a framework, this research analyzed the ways in which Mexican immigrant families who were deported, and Iranian-immigrant families living in the United States, have been differently affected by post 9/11 anti-immigrant policies and by zero tolerance policies enacted by the Trump administration. The research question guiding this study was: How do U.S. anti-immigrant policies affect Iranian and Mexican immigrant families and their children’s futures? Our findings uncovered that both groups were negatively affected, however, in different ways. Iranian immigrant parents worried about their socioeconomic status in the United States and their children’s future. They also feared that their relatives might not be able to visit them due to the U.S. Muslim Travel Ban placed on people from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Iran. On the other hand, Mexican immigrants who lived in the United States undocumented were deported to Mexico. However, after deportation, and responding to the threat of the Trump administration to deport millions more, the Mexican government provided dual citizenship to U.S.-born children of Mexican returnees to facilitate their access to government services, including education. All people and place names are pseudonyms.

Keywords

Mexican immigrant families; Iranian immigrant familites; Deportation; Zero tolerance immigration policies; Educational access

Disciplines

Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education

File Format

pdf

File Size

241 KB

Language

English

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Repository Citation

Candel, S. L., Fayazpour, S. (2019). Experiencing Anti-Immigrant Policies on Both Sides of the U.S./Mexico Borderland: A Comparative Study of Mexican and Iranian Families. Education Sciences, 9(2), 1-14. MDPI.
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/educsci9020148