The Social Construction of Child Protection in an Anti-immigration Context

Abstract

This chapter examines historical and contemporary issues related to child protection and argues that the social construction of immigrants requires an examination of the values that shape child welfare practice. Discussion of the historical context of the US child welfare system is followed by a discussion of the separations of children from their families as a result of deportations or separations at the border. The intersections of child welfare, racism, and xenophobia are discussed, highlighting historical trauma, forced separations of Indigenous and Latinx children, and the importance of social constructions of immigrants in shaping child welfare practice and policy.

Citation

Sosa, L.V., McNitt, M. and Dinata, E.M.R. (2019), "The Social Construction of Child Protection in an Anti-immigration Context", Conflict and Forced Migration (Studies in Symbolic Interaction, Vol. 51), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 193-208. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0163-239620190000051010