The Effect of Family Separation and Reunification on the Educational Success of Immigrant Children in the United States

44 Pages Posted: 26 Apr 2010

See all articles by T. H. Gindling

T. H. Gindling

University of Maryland, Baltimore County; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Sara Poggio

University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)

Abstract

For many immigrants, especially those from Central America and Mexico, it is common for a mother or father (or both) to migrate to the United States and leave their children behind. Then, after the parent(s) have achieved some degree of stability in the United States, the children follow. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, we examined the hypothesis that separation during migration results in problems at school after re-unification. We find that children separated from parents during migration are more likely to be behind others their age in school and are more likely to drop out of high school.

Keywords: immigrant children, education, family separation

JEL Classification: I2, J13, J61

Suggested Citation

Gindling, Thomas and Poggio, Sara, The Effect of Family Separation and Reunification on the Educational Success of Immigrant Children in the United States. IZA Discussion Paper No. 4887, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1595528 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1595528

Thomas Gindling (Contact Author)

University of Maryland, Baltimore County ( email )

1000 Hilltop Circle
Baltimore, MD 21250
United States

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Sara Poggio

University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) ( email )

1000 Hilltop Circle
Baltimore, MD 21250
United States

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