My Family Divided: One Girl's Journey of Home, Loss, and Hope

Undocumented or unauthorized immigration is a complex issue in the US and an area of considerable social and political controversy. An estimated 3% of the American population is undocumented immigrants, amounting to more than 10 million people, one-fifth of the total immigrant population in the country (Pew Research Center, 2023.) Undocumented immigration poses a challenge for most governments, which aim to monitor and control immigration as part of national sovereignty. Undocumented immigration is also a vector for crime and exploitation, as unauthorized migrants may be brought into the US by criminal gangs using dangerous routes and methods and who charge migrants or their families large fees, which they may be forced to pay back at unmanageable rates of interest. Undocumented immigrants have few legal protections and are at high risk of trafficking, modern-day enslavement, and exploitation or coercion. The vast majority of undocumented immigrants are employed. Being undocumented does not mean that someone does not pay taxes or contribute to the US economy; a large portion of undocumented immigrants pay taxes through their paychecks and through money spent on goods and services. Because they reside without official permission in the US, often in fear of detection, undocumented migrants are unable to access services and rely on community networks to survive under the radar.

People migrate to the US without authorization from all across the world, and these demographics tend to reflect global political and economic events at any one time, as immigrants may be fleeing starvation, war, persecution, poverty, and governmental collapse. Although the majority of undocumented immigrants would prefer to enter through legal routes, numerous political and administrative obstacles stand in the way of this goal, including caps on immigration and visas, and caveats that prevent immigrants from gaining permanent status. Increasingly “hostile environment” policies have been introduced in the US in recent decades, as social and political attitudes toward immigration have become increasingly negative and polarized. Among these measures are enforced deportations and actions that divide family members including parents and children, such as Guerrero’s memoir describes.