Abstract
The population detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement more than doubled between 2001 and 2013, swelling to over 477,000 individuals. Despite this growth, few studies analyze the experiences of detained immigrants. We draw from one of the first studies of detention in the United States, analyzing survey data from 565 noncitizens detained for six months or longer in California. Criminal incarceration literature finds that family visitation helps maintain social ties but is not evenly distributed. We analyze the predictors of contact and visitation with children during immigration detention. Results indicate that demographic background, the type of detention facility, and children’s legal status substantially affect contact and visitation experiences. Findings suggest that immigration detention replicates experiences of criminal incarceration and is perpetuating inequality in immigrant communities.
- © 2017 Russell Sage Foundation. Patler, Caitlin, and Nicholas Branic. 2017. “Patterns of Family Visitation During Immigration Detention.” RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 3(4): 18–36. DOI: 10.7758/RSF.2017.3.4.02. The authors are grateful to Roberto Gonzales, Steven Raphael, and the participants of the Undocumented Immigration and the Experience of Illegality conference, hosted by the Russell Sage Foundation, for their helpful comments and suggestions on earlier drafts of this paper. Data used in this study were collected by Caitlin Patler and Emily Ryo. Direct correspondence to: Caitlin Patler at patler{at}ucdavis.edu, 1283 Social Sciences & Humanities, One Shields Ave., University of California, Davis, CA 95616; and Nicholas Branic at nbranic@uci.edu, 2301 Social Ecology II, Irvine, CA 92697.
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