Deportation risk hangs over "illegal" parents.

• Position: Stress

Illegal aliens who are parents of minor children experience high levels of stress associated with severe depressive symptoms, and many of them do not have an explicit plan for the care of their children in the case of deportation, maintains a report coauthored by Jodi Cardoso, assistant professor of social work at the University of Houston, and Monica Faulkner (director) and Jennifer Scott (doctoral student) from the School of Social Work at the University of Texas, Austin.

The study found that these circumstances can cause a change in family dynamics, as children often take on responsibilities, such as translating for adults, and they commonly feel they are responsible for fixing their parents' status. "Some parents reported feeling disempowered by this change, and mentioned that this power shift made disciplining their kids more challenging," Scott notes.

About...