US families rely on migrants as nannies-Trump could change that

US families rely on migrants as nannies-Trump could change that

Catalina, a 23-year-old US citizen, confidently drives her job as Nanny and deserves a fair salary. Your mother-a undocumented immigrant from Peru-but has worked for 30 years.

To protect her identity and the security of her mother, CNN has changed her name. During the term of Barack Obama Catalina’s mother went back to Peru, as her daughter reports. The Obama government focused on domestic deportation (in contrast to border deportation) and in particular Rel = "NOFOLLOW" TARGET = "_ blank" https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/13/politics/obama-trump-deportations-legigation#:text=OBAMA%20Used%20executive ,Border%20This%20Years Returns ”of new border crossing, which were considered less connected to the USA, to focus.

"Many people told her that nothing would happen, and in fact nothing happened," says Catalina and explains that her mother ultimately decided to stay.

fear of deportation

The hard However, immigration policy by Donald Trump's government draw a dark picture for both. The 23-year-old fears that her mother could be arrested while picking up a family's children every afternoon to support their own family.

"She is a single mother. I am the eldest daughter, so I would have to take care of my siblings if something happens," says Catalina. "She had to sign a document in which she hands over to me, only in the event: what to do with my siblings, her things, her money. It is terrible to think about it, but she feels prepared."

an invisible group of workers

The mother of Catalina raised her children alone and dedicated part of her life to childcare, a sector that is confronted with a deep personnel crisis - one that has further tightened in the past few months, since experts say that immigrants are essential to maintain this system.

"Childcare has been facing a crisis and a lack of workers for a long time. Immigrants are crucial to keep this system going, both in the formal and informal sector," explains Wendy Cervantes, director of immigration and immigrant families in the Center for Law and Social Policy (Clasp), compared to CNN.

According to a report by the National Women’s Law Center, 20 % of early childhood Educator immigrants in the USA. Women make up a "significant percentage" of the workers in this area.

"Supervision is the work that makes all other work possible and enables all families to thrive," says the report. Nevertheless, nurses face low wages, lack of social benefits, susceptibility to exploitation and uncertainty at the workplace. Undocumented workers also have no access to basic labor rights and protective measures.

lack of access to social benefits

Although she has been living in the USA for years, Catalina’s mother has no access to work such as health insurance or social insurance.

"She is paid in cash or by check, but there is no services. Nothing at all," explains Catalina's working conditions. Every year and documented immigrants in the United States pay billions of dollars, although they know that they cannot enjoy the advantages unless their status is regulated.

In addition, the constant threat of the ad limits you even when accepting jobs. "When a job comes from an American family, I don't think she would accept it. She is afraid that someone will call the authorities when something happens."

According to Cervantes, immigrants in childcare are "often an invisible worker". Despite their decisive role in the early childhood upbringing of an increasingly diverse child population, they are not adequately recognized.

"One thing that is often not perceived is that these workers are among the few who are bilingual and cultural-sensitive, especially in the formal sector that is very popular. Many families want their children in bilingual education programs and these workers are crucial for the care of an increasingly diverse population," adds the Clasp director.

a support system under pressure

In addition to the numbers, the tightening of immigration policy under the Trump government affected the reality of thousands of families such as that of Catalina directly.

A few weeks after Trump took office, his government announced that the officers of the Immigration and Customs Authority (ICE) could now also make arrest near places such as schools, churches and hospitals, which ended a long-term policy that prevented it from operating in so-called "sensitive locations".

"And now, in some states in which there is greater cooperation with the domestic police, a nanny that simply drives to work could be arrested, deported, deported and separated from her family," notes Cervantes.

The mother of Catalina experiences this fear every day when she gets into the car to pick up the children that she takes care of in the afternoon. "When she arrives, police officers are always in traffic. Sometimes she hides in the car, does not come out. She waits for the children to get into the car. It is terrible," says Catalina. "When I meet her in school, she feels a little better. But if she is alone, she doesn't feel safe."

Without protective measures such as the politics of the "sensitive places", it is much more difficult for Nanny's to use families and feel safe when they continue their work, warns Cervantes.

"The way in which immigrant enforcement measures are used throughout the country is happening with very little supervision and responsibility. More and more people are becoming more susceptible to deportation because there are no longer any discretion for parents or people with humanitarian reasons. There is no longer any way to prioritize who should be deported or not. Everyone is a priority. Clasp director.

Catalina is currently studying and hopes to be able to build a house in Peru for one day if she decides to return. "My mother has no one here, no family, no sisters, no mother. Nothing. She is alone," she says, but insists that she doesn't want to leave her alone. "She is more worried because she says: 'My daughter is left alone.'"

In the meantime, the growing pressure of the Trump government to advance its plan to mass deportation could further damage the US childcare system.

"If we lose immigrants, especially those who take care of our children, we will suffer as a country. If the deportations are continued at the current pace and this budget proposal happens to the congress, which would allow the government to increase their enforcement measures - then this will have a very negative effect on the workforce as a whole and make it more difficult for all working mothers and father to find childcare," " Cervantes.

This is the invisible role of Catalina’s mother: she is the one who allows others to work while her children are looked after. Without them and many others like them, the United States would be a completely different country.