For Des Moines family, a dad's deportation leaves lasting trauma
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Abigail Lopez looks into her father's garage on Sept. 27. Photo: Madeleine Charis King/Iowa Public Radio/Midwest Newsroom
Since her father was deported to Mexico last month, 14-year-old Abigail Lopez has struggled to get through the school day in West Des Moines, Midwest Newsroom reports.
Why it matters: The fear and trauma of losing a parent to deportation can follow children into adulthood, affecting their education, mental health and even physical development, researchers say.
Driving the news: Abigail, a student at Stilwell Junior High, has missed four days of school since immigration officers arrested her father, Juan Lopez, on his way to work in September.
- Lopez, who lived in the U.S. for nearly 40 years, was deported to Mexico, leaving behind seven children and 14 grandchildren, all U.S. citizens.
- Immigration officials say Lopez has a felony record, including aggravated assault with a weapon and burglary, per Midwest Newsroom.
- His family says his deportation has taken an emotional and financial toll, with two of his sons now helping pay the mortgage on the family's Des Moines home. Sometimes, Abigail asks her mother to pick her up from school because she's afraid of what could happen next to her family.
The big picture: Beyond the immediate toll on families, University of Iowa researchers previously found that immigration enforcement can affect children even before they're born.
- Following the 2008 immigration raid in Postville, researchers found that Iowa babies born to Latina mothers faced a 24% higher risk of low birth weight compared with the same period a year earlier. No similar increase was found among babies born to white mothers.
- The findings suggest that stress from immigration enforcement can affect entire communities, including families not directly targeted.
- "This is kind of a similar thing as you see after an earthquake or another kind of mass violence, another stressful event," University of Iowa researcher Nicole Novak told the Midwest Newsroom.
Zoom out: More than 200,000 children nationwide have had a parent detained by immigration authorities since President Trump's second term began in January last year, according to estimates from the Brookings Institution.
The bottom line: The Lopez family is adjusting to life without Juan, who spent much of his free time fixing cars in the garage and hosting Saturday cookouts with his children and grandchildren.
- His twin sons, Jonathan and Juan Jr., 25, are now helping pay the mortgage on the family home.
- But his children say the house won't feel like home again until their father returns.
Worthy of your time: Trauma after a parent's deportation could affect Iowa children for decades (Midwest Newsroom)