UC Merced

The impacts of policies of control and removal of people of color remain a matter ofhuman, social, economic, and political implications. This dissertation examines the narratives of adult members of nuclear and extended families to understand the collateral consequences of these punitive systems. In the first chapter, in addition to establishing the impact of having a father incarcerated, I describe the effects of having sons or brothers incarcerated. Additionally, I explain the impact of incarceration of extended family members such as cousins, grandchildren, or nephews. Chapter two describes the effects resulting from the deportation of fathers and husbands and other nuclear family members as brothers. Furthermore, I describe the impact of deporting other extended family members such as uncles, aunts, godparents, and brothers-in-law. In the third chapter, I take the narratives of the adults interviewed to understand if the experiences of having a family member deported or incarcerated are the same or different? Also, this chapter explores whether nuclear and extended families have similar or different experiences with these events. The study of families in the Central Valley of California is significant since California experiences a considerable presence of migrants and people with different immigration statuses. Additionally, California has a high number of people incarcerated. Adults' narratives show the critical role of the extended family supporting in cases of family crises, and this study indicates that these repressive systems reach all family members. I found that extended family members have also been deported and incarcerated; their removal from these households meant a tremendous emotional and financial impact. Nuclear families who suffer deportations and incarceration endure very similar impacts, a family member is no longer part of the household, their emotional and financial contribution is missing, and even after reunification, either because the deported person returns to the United States or because the person is released from prison, families continue to suffer emotionally and financially. In the case of the extended families, aunts and uncles deported have very close ties to their relatives left behind, and grandmothers can experience significant feelings of isolation and financial burdens when dealing with grandson incarceration. The situation of nuclear and extended families experiencing deportations and incarceration is problematic because they belong to low-income communities located in the Central Valley of California, a region characterized by many socio-economic issues with few resources for families dealing with deportations and incarcerations. Therefore, these families in their generations are destined to exclusion and poverty.