University of Tennessee at Chattanooga UTC Scholar Student Research, Creative Works, and Honors Theses Publications 5-2021 Shining a light into the darkness: the developmental impacts of internment in U.S. immigration detention centers on detained Latinx children Rebecca Messer University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.utc.edu/honors-theses Part of the American Politics Commons, and the Developmental Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Messer, Rebecca, "Shining a light into the darkness: the developmental impacts of internment in U.S. immigration detention centers on detained Latinx children" (2021). Honors Theses. This Theses is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Research, Creative Works, and Publications at UTC Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of UTC Scholar. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Shining a Light into the Darkness: The Developmental Impacts of Internment in U.S. Immigration Detention Centers on Detained Latinx Children Rebecca Lauren Messer Departmental Honors Thesis School of Education The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga: Examination Date: March 12, 2021 Dr. Rita Boyajiah Groh Dr. Darrell Meece Lecturer of Political Science Professor of Education Thesis Director Department Examiner ABSTRACT Americans are concerned about immigration politics and how to handle the migration of immigrants into the United States, especially those from Latinx countries who immigrate illegally. In response, the United States government has formed detention centers to house the children of these illegal immigrants. While the immediate safety and developmental appropriateness of current separation practices are of concern, few have considered what the long-term developmental and transgenerational impacts on Latinx immigrant children, held within these detention centers, will be. This thesis concludes that the negative physical, emotional, and psychological impacts both in the short and long terms are expected to be significant though without continued exploration are currently unmeasurable. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................... 2 Modern Latin American Migration ............................................................................................. 2 Unreliable Government Reporting .............................................................................................. 3 Definitions ................................................................................................................................... 5 Importance of the Study .............................................................................................................. 6 Overview ..................................................................................................................................... 7 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................ 8 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 8 Immediate Impacts ...................................................................................................................... 8 Physical .................................................................................................................................... 8 Emotional and Mental ............................................................................................................. 9 Social ..................................................................................................................................... 12 Long-term Impacts .................................................................................................................... 15 Physical .................................................................................................................................. 15 Emotional and Mental ........................................................................................................... 16 Social ..................................................................................................................................... 17 Transgenerational Impacts ........................................................................................................ 18 Physical .................................................................................................................................. 18 Emotional and Mental ........................................................................................................... 18 Social ..................................................................................................................................... 19 CURRENT LEGAL CODES ..................................................................................................... 19 Legal Protections ....................................................................................................................... 20 Flores Settlement Agreement ................................................................................................ 20 United States Bills of Rights ................................................................................................. 22 CBP National Standards on Transport, Escort, Detention, and Search Standards ................ 23 Homeland Security Act of 2002 ............................................................................................ 26 Trafficking Victim Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 ................................................. 27 Indiscriminate Criminalization of Illegal Border Crossings: The Zero-Tolerance Policy .... 28 THEORY ..................................................................................................................................... 29 Immediate Impacts .................................................................................................................... 29 Physical .................................................................................................................................. 29 Emotional and Mental ........................................................................................................... 30 Social ..................................................................................................................................... 30 Long-Term Impacts ................................................................................................................... 31 Physical .................................................................................................................................. 32 Emotional and Mental ........................................................................................................... 32 Social ..................................................................................................................................... 34 Transgenerational Impacts ........................................................................................................ 34 Physical .................................................................................................................................. 34 Emotional and Mental ........................................................................................................... 35 Social ..................................................................................................................................... 35 METHODS .................................................................................................................................. 36 Japanese American Internment Camps ..................................................................................... 36 Renè Spitz Study ....................................................................................................................... 38 Modern Day Internment Centers ............................................................................................... 40 Variables.................................................................................................................................... 42 Age......................................................................................................................................... 42 Gender ................................................................................................................................... 42 Country of Origin .................................................................................................................. 42 Proficiency in English and Spanish ....................................................................................... 43 Separation from Primary Caregiver ....................................................................................... 43 Previous Trauma and Its Impact on Coping Abilities ........................................................... 43 Length of Time ...................................................................................................................... 44 Conditions of the Internment Center ..................................................................................... 44 Reunification Issues ..............................................................................................................