A newly released study from Stanford University demonstrates that the vitriolic immigration debate and crackdown in Arizona is harming unborn children through markedly lower birth weights and lower birth rates for immigrants. Specifically, the study found that immigrant Latinas in Arizona who were pregnant during the debate over Senate Bill 1070, and gave birth in the six-month period between July and December 2010, had babies with lower birthweight compared with those in prior years. Study author Dr. Torche said, “It is the fear itself that can have a negative effect on women.” The number of births among Latina immigrants in Arizona during the second half of 2010 also decreased.
In response IAF organizer Joe Rubio asserts that legislation like SB 1070:
“was meant to scare people out of the state. The intention was to turn us against each other, especially the ‘show me your papers’ dimension of the bill.”
Immigration enforcement laws of that time sowed mistrust and suspicion in communities, Mr. Rubio said, noting that a number of parishes in Phoenix saw Mass attendance and community participation plummet. Children would call their homes after school to see if it was “safe,” he said, explaining it was considered dangerous if police officers were in the neighborhood.
“Who’s going to report crimes? Mean-spirited legislation affects not only this generation but generations to come,” he said. “You are hurting citizen children, future workers and, from a larger perspective, you’re damaging the body of Christ. We pursue this type of fear-based legislation to our peril.”
[Photo Credit: Catholic News Service photo / David Maung, EPA]
Study Finds Immigration Crackdowns Harm Unborn Children, America Magazine [pdf]