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In this episode, Messellech “Selley” Abebe talks with Adriana Cadena about the real-life impact of immigration policies on children and families, why access to basic needs like food, health care, and stability shouldn’t depend on a parent’s immigration status, and how states can step up when the federal government falls short. Cadena is the leader of the Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition, a national movement ensuring families get the resources they need to thrive no matter where they were born. Together, Abebe and Cadena explore the fear and trauma many children in immigrant families face, the importance of telling these stories to shift public perception, and how communities and policymakers can act to protect children and families while strengthening neighborhoods and economies.

To learn more about Adriana Cadena and her work, you can visit the Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition website, and follow her on Instagram (@pifcoalition, @pifcoalicion), Facebook (@pifcoalicion, @pifcoalition) and X.

Want to keep digging into the real-life impact policy decisions have on children? Here’s some of what First Focus on Children has published recently:

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Transcript

.Adriana Cadena  0:00  

We need to cut through the political rhetoric of the different political parties and really to know that, you know, we are all human beings, and we’re all here for the same thing, which is to be able to provide the best that we can for our children. And that as immigrants, not only are we contributing economically to this nation, and not only are we working from the service industries to also being innovators and entrepreneurs, it’s also that, you know, we bring our culture, we bring our food, we bring, you know, our different practices that get adapted and integrated. And that’s so evident in American society, right? And so our policies have to, in a certain sense, reflect that.

Selley Abebe  0:42  

Taking a look at the kids caught between love, fear and paperwork. Hey, ambassadors, welcome back to Speaking of Kids. It’s Selley. Picture this. A child wakes up with a fever, and their mom wants to take them to the doctor, but she hesitates because she knows that one wrong question on a government form, a doctor form, could put their entire family at risk. That’s what policy looks like in real life. And I have to say, as someone that grew up with a mom and dad that became first generation Americans, kids don’t really care about immigration status. I don’t think that, you know, they have the ability to understand the levels of paperwork and the level of caution around questions, or, you know, going out in certain places as a family unit in these times. All I remember as a kid was my mom came from Ethiopia, she stayed with a host family, she got her education, and then she needed to study, and she needed to take a test to become a US citizen. So as a child, all I knew was I needed to help her take this test, and then after when she passed, we celebrated by going to McDonald’s. And the reality is, it really should just be that simple for kids. Kids shouldn’t have to take on the emotional burden of immigration policy. It’s just too much. If Speaking of Kids helps you see how the headlines land in real homes, share this show, leave a review and help us reach more listeners. Our guest today, Adriana Cadena, leads the Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition, a national movement helping families get food, health care and stability no matter where they were born. She grew up on the US Mexico border as an undocumented child, and now she’s fighting to make sure no kid is punished for who their parents are. So you know, one in four children in the United States, as you probably know, have at least one parent that’s an immigrant parent, and there’s an increased anxiety and worry that this large group of children are not getting the support and opportunities they need to thrive. From your perspective, how does that concern show up in communities across the country, and what are you seeing in the lives of children and families? 

Adriana Cadena  3:13  

Yeah, I mean, that’s a really hard question, because there’s so much happening at the moment within immigrant communities and communities that are part of immigrants. In particular, children immigrant families, they do not receive the support that is needed. That is evident both in understanding the dynamics and the complexities in which immigrant families live in. It is also in these policies that are currently being implemented from the federal level that really exclude immigrants, and in particular, have a deep impact in immigrant children and the access that they will have to basic services that they need. And so there is a lot of worry in communities and in families about how to meet those needs. And it’s not just basic needs like food, health and shelter, but it’s also the trauma the children are experiencing at the in the current moment, when they are fearful that their parents will be detained and deported, and what that means for having their parent in their life, or what that means for their own future.

Selley Abebe  4:23  

You know, there used to be a time when certain spaces were like No Go Zones, you know, like schools, churches, certain community centers. Is that still the case?

Adriana Cadena  4:36  

Unfortunately, no. So there was a long standing guidance that law enforcement agencies like ICE and others would not come into very sacred places, like churches, hospitals, schools, and so when the second Trump administration started, the beginning of the year, that guidance has been lifted. These places, which was called the protective areas, are no longer protected. They’re no longer a safe place where people can go to and not be fearful of immigration enforcement agents coming in. And so I think that that really demonstrates a turn in terms of how immigrants are not just viewed, but really treated in this country, and how places that are havens for communities, whether they’re immigrant or not, are no longer seen as havens by the federal administration that has a real fear and concern, because places like schools and churches and health clinics and emergency health centers need to be able to figure out how they protect their patients, how they protect their clients, how they protect children from law enforcement agencies simply coming in and being able to identify them and being able to take them away. So it’s a real, real fear, and it’s it’s something that local entities are working on to ensure that they have policies in place, and that their staff knows what they can do in order to protect children in those areas.

Selley Abebe  6:05  

You know, there’s a lot of policy language right now around lawfully present or mixed status families, but what does that actually mean for a kid?

Adriana Cadena  6:16  

Yeah, that’s a great question, and it’s really important to know that immigration law is very complicated with all the different statuses that exist. So let’s start with US citizens. You know US citizens are obviously not immigrants, but sometimes there are, you know, different analysis from being immigrants to naturalized to become citizens. I still identify them as either foreign born or immigrant because they’re naturalized immigrants in the United States. And then essentially, we can think about it lawfully present immigrants. And it’s really important to understand that there is lawfully present immigrants versus undocumented immigrants. And so when we’ve been talking about all these different cuts, they are targeting lawfully present immigrants. And why? Because undocumented immigrants don’t qualify for any of these benefits already. So while the administration might say, you know, this is to keep quote, unquote illegals out, at the end of the day, undocumented people don’t qualify. And so therefore all these cuts that are happening is specifically target lawfully present people. And so when we think about lawfully present people. There’s about three different categories. One is that there’s people who have green cards who are non citizens, so that means that they’re permanent in terms of being able to be in the United States. And then there are people who are authorized to be in the United States and who come here on a temporary visa, either as visitors or students or or even people who have temporary status, who have been victims of abuse or domestic violence. The third category that I would classify is people have temporary protective status, and you’re probably your audience has heard this a lot about TPS temporary protective status, and this is a particular status that is granted by the United States to people from certain countries who have come here because they were fleeing a, you know, civil unrest, civil war in a country, or who are fleeing a natural disaster or something that happened in their nation. So they don’t have a permanent status, but it’s usually renewed every year or so, you know. So those are some of the categories that I think we can think about. It’s also important to understand the difference between a refugee and asylee. So refugees are people who have been vetted and they were given refugee status, and then they come into the US with that refugee status already, and so they’re here lawfully present. An asylee is people who come to the border or to a port of entry and say, I’m fleeing persecution in my country. I need asylum. And so they, in the past, they were able to enter the nation, the country, and be able to be given that temporary asylee status while their asylum case is walked through.

Selley Abebe  8:56  

And that’s mostly just for our listeners. That’s mostly like the image that you see from people coming here through the Mexican US border. 

Adriana Cadena  9:05  

Yeah, let me explain that a little bit better. So in the past, you saw people coming to the border, trying to enter the border, asking for asylum because they were fleeing a certain situation or condition in their nation. And so those people who are coming to the border and coming in and saying, I’m afraid of being persecuted or I’m fleeing for this reason, they asked for asylum, and so they may be given like a temporary status while their asylum case is heard and decided upon in immigration court or through the immigration system. And that particularly is no longer in effect, the United States is no longer accepting people when they’re coming to the border as asylees, they’re asking them to wait, and it’s really hard for someone to come in as an asylee at the current moment. And so as you can see, you know, immigration is really complicated when we talk about mixed status families. What we’re trying to say is that in a family, you can have people from all these different. Statuses. For instance, you can have a family where, again, the dad may be undocumented, the mom may have permanent resident status or have become a naturalized citizen, and you have a couple of children who are US citizens, and then you have a child who was left behind in their home country who has now joined them and has a special child status, and it’s really complicated, especially right now, for anyone to eventually become a US citizens, because the laws are so rigid. What’s important to note is that the majority of children in this country who are in an immigrant family are US citizens. If there is an undocumented parent in the family unit, the whole family is going to be fearful about immigration consequences that may lead to one, a child who is a US citizen, not necessarily being enrolled in benefits. That child is going to live like that undocumented parent and their fear of being detained and their fear of something that they receive, having a consequence to their parents. So there is impact in the psychic that happens with their family that’s, I think, important to understand. And then the other piece is that all these laws and policies are complex, and there really are intended to keep people from accessing the services that they need, instead of really helping families enroll in the healthcare and nutrition services that they need in order to survive.

Selley Abebe  11:29  

And you know, to that point, at first focus, as you know, we work on the cross of issues, so it’s really hard for us to look at an issue like immigration without looking at it from to your point, the lens of health, nutrition, early childhood, et cetera. You know, if a child can’t access snap or Medicaid or head start because of their immigration status, what does that moment feel like for the families in your experience and you know, one of the changes we’re talking about about denying services to kids who survived abuse or neglect. Can you explain how that happened and what it says really about our priorities as a country?

Adriana Cadena  12:09  

Yeah, I mean, I think that’s really important. I’m glad that you brought up is precisely this exclusion, particularly children, there is a status of protected children that receive a particular legal status, and they have been excluded by federal law, through the reconciliation process, from being able to access these different types of services. Not only did the reconciliation process really dismantle and it cut off services for the entire country and people who are poor in this nation and need access, but in reality, it did a specific target towards immigrants, where in the past we had folks like unaccompanied minors and refugees and people in different statuses that were able and eligible to access Medicaid And snap and other services. Now they’re completely excluded, so now only legal permanent residents and two other different categories can actually access these benefits. And so I think as a nation, what we’re hearing from the federal government is saying we don’t care about children who are in this country, and so it really is detrimental, and it’s going to have long term consequences to a group of children that not only experiencing the trauma and the fear that they’re living right now in this heavy enforcement situations, but really will keep them from succeeding later in life, because it’s not going to give them the tools and the services they need in order to survive.

Selley Abebe  13:40  

You know, to that point, can you talk a little bit about the difference between exclusion and disenrollment? How are families being turned away, even when it might look like they qualify for programs?

Adriana Cadena  13:53  

So I think it’s important to think about this enrollment in a way that we look at the process of how you enrolled in a particular benefit, a family or a child can be disturbed for a number of reasons. You know. One of those is because there is fear in accessing the benefit itself, which we’ve discussed. The other is that they’re still eligible and they meet the requirements, but you know, the process and the particular process that exists keeps them from really being able to document and be able to share the documents that they need. And that really has to do with, you know, a series of how does the agency ensure that people maintain or continue to be enrolled in these services? And the other is, like, the complexity of like language access, whether information is provided in the appropriate language that the person can understand, and the information is shared directly. So there’s a series of things that have to do, from fear to procedural processes to accessing information in the language that disenroll people from programs that they’re eligible for and that they still meet requirements when. We talk about exclusions, it’s really is how the rule is set up to and how the laws are set up there is an exclusion because there’s only certain eligibility requirements I need to meet that have to do with immigration statuses, and so therefore you are no longer able and eligible to be able to enroll in these programs are really vital for the well being of children in these families.

Selley Abebe  15:24  

All right, let’s pause right here, and after the break, we’ll talk about where hope still lives, how some states are stepping up, and what real leadership for immigrant families could look like. Before the break, Adriana helped us understand the harm, what it looks like when families are cut off from food, healthcare and stability. So I asked her, if the federal government has stepped back, what does it actually look like for states to step up? We’ve spent the first half looking at the harm, and you did a great job outlining the impact that some of these policy shifts, and even beyond direct policy, I think, the overall atmosphere and environment for immigrant children and families and what they’re facing right now. But, you know, I want to talk about, really, what do we do from here, you know, as an organization, first focus, and then just even, you know, for a lot of these children and families that are in this current situation, we want to be able to offer a solution, or at least a roadmap. You know, the federal government has stepped back, but what does this look like from the perspective of the states? How can states step up? And are there any states that are getting this right?

Adriana Cadena  16:39  

So if I can just recap from what we’ve been discussing, I think it’s important to understand that one that changes at the federal level are going to have a big impact on what happens at the state level. And so over the years, what we’ve been able to do as advocates for immigrants and as advocates for children and as advocates for for access to the nation’s safety net, is that we’ve been able to expand access for immigrant families in different states, states like California, New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, have been doing a great job of being able to expand these services. That means that immigrants who are in the country legally as some undocumented immigrants are able to have access to things like health care and food programs, one of the things that that these states have been able and that advocates have been able to do over the last 2025 years, is really create those expansions so that in states, For instance, where undocumented children were not were not able to get Medicaid. Now they can get Medicaid in states where legal permanent residents who fall within a five year bar, which means they have to wait five years from the time to become residents to be able to apply for benefits, even if they meet all other eligibility requirements. Some states have expanded that to cover those individuals and so, and in other states, you know, even covering elderly adults who are undocumented. So it’s really been this approach to expand access, to ensure that people are covered from children who are undocumented to children who fall within the five year bar, and that way you are able to care for a broader group of people who need these services in your states. And so what has happened at the federal level with cuts to Medicaid and to snap and to some of the other programs is that there’s going to impact that’s going to have an impact at the state level, because there’ll be less funds coming from the federal level going to the States right? And so what we have to do as advocates and as people who care for children is to ensure that we maintain those programs at the state level, and to really ensure that the states understand that the need to continue to cover these different populations is essential to the well being of their state, is essential to the well being of their economic growth, and it’s the right thing to do. Is the right thing to do for children, and it’s the right thing to do for families. We already see in these fights in states, and there is a lot of concern that some of these states will simply, when they look at their budgets and they have to make cuts, it will simply cut off immigrants, because, you know, that’s a population, unfortunately, that immediately gets cut from any kind of these public support systems that exist. And so it’s really up to us to look at and to and to advocate for that when you target a particular population, in this case, immigrants, that you not only harm that group of people, but you entirely harm entire communities. Because immigrants don’t, we don’t live, you know, separate from anyone else. We’re part of communities. We are integrated, and so you can. It target a particular group of people and not know that it’s going to have consequences throughout entire states.

Selley Abebe  20:05  

You know, we say all the time that money matters, and prioritizing children and families in budgets. You know, we advocate at the federal level, but arguably at the state level too, really matters. What if something a governor or state legislator could do you know today, as they’re looking down either their budget or either as they’re looking at their next fiscal year, or if they’re just looking at what’s ultimately going to be coming down the pipeline for this community, and in particular for children, what’s something that they can do today?

Adriana Cadena  20:41  

That’s a great question. I think there is real opportunity for elected leaders, elected officials, to be bold and to take action. I mean, this is the time when they need to stand with immigrant communities. Leaders like in cities like Cambridge, Massachusetts and Long Beach, California, have really taken a step by in responding to the Trump administration threats and recommitting to policies that welcome immigrants, and that’s extremely important. It is important that leaders recommit to a welcoming city, to be in a welcoming state, because that gives hope for families and it gives hopes to the rest of us who are really looking at who is stepping up and taking bold action and being defensive of the most vulnerable in our society, but states and leaders can also, you know, sue the administration. So dozens of states have already sued the Trump administration for attacks on immigrant families. You know, abusive enforcement actions, and so being able to sue the administration is an act of resistance, and it’s an act of saying, we stand with immigrant families, we welcome immigrant families and whatnot. And not only that, but what you’re doing is unlawful. You need to stop these attacks. And we are champions for communities, you know, we also can’t let members or elected officials off the hook, and so we need to continue pressuring them to take action, to ensure that they are designing policies and that they’re going back to the drawing board to restoring access, and that they hold the line at the state level and they restore access at the federal level.

Selley Abebe  22:22  

You know, and to that point, immigration is such a polarizing topic right now. t I feel like, arguably, it always has been, but right now we’re just in this heightened sense of a standstill, or we’re just not making any solid traction. How can advocates, can elected officials, can you know our ambassadors and champions from across the country, what is the best advice you can give them to cut through the noise, to shift the narrative, not only about like what the right thing to do is, but historically and from even an economic standpoint, the value that immigrants and immigrant communities bring to this country.

Adriana Cadena  23:08  

Yeah, I mean, I think it’s definitely challenging to cut through the noise. It’s definitely challenges to get the right information about what is happening in the impact that that is having, and how it affects us as people like any of us in this country, and so I think the best thing that we can do is to tell our stories. If you’re an immigrant or you are part of an immigrant family, telling the story about the impact that this is having on you, and then your family is so critical and important because those are primary voices. If you’re a teacher that has children who are immigrants or who have immigrant parents, and that impact that is having on you as a teacher, it’s important to tell that story, because, as I mentioned, all of us are affected. It’s not just immigrant themselves, but all of us who are intertwined and who collaborate with and who have immigrant friends, who see children of immigrant families in our classrooms or in our clinics. And so it’s important it’s important to tell the stories. And I think the other is also that we really want to elevate these stories that elevate the truth about what is happening in communities through the media and through different outlets. I mean, I think as advocates, you and I know that we advocate in the media as well, right to tell the right story, to share the complexities of the situation, to lay out the truth, as opposed to the lies that are coming down from like the highest office in this country. So that’s why, you know, for us telling that story, whether it’s our local newspaper or local media outlets or through different podcasts like this, or through others. It’s really, really critical and important. And we’ve, we’ve really seen this commitment from organizations like first focus and some of our other partners that as organizations who don’t have immigrant in their name like we do, but. That understand and know the importance of being an advocate for immigrant children. It’s important to elevate that and to really talk about the impact that these different policies are having on children in this country and children in immigrant families.

Selley Abebe  25:15  

Thank you for that. That’s really helpful, and you outlined some really practical ways to be able to cut through the noise and shift the narrative a little bit. You know, if you could be queen for the day and sit down with someone who writes federal policy, maybe even someone that voted for these changes, what would you want them to either see or hear? And I guess I should open this up to even someone that you know is on on the fence or confused about what to believe around how immigrants should be viewed and what their access should be in terms of public benefits. What would you want them to see or hear?

Adriana Cadena  25:56  

You know, if I could be queen for a day, right? I mean, I think it’s important to understand that. And I keep reiterating this is that immigrants are no different from anyone else, and immigrants, you know, have brought richness to this country. This nation was founded by immigrants. There’s always going to be people who are coming to United States to seek a better life, to bring their own culture, to bring their own strength and to build this nation. So there is humanity like we are all humans, and as human beings, we all have dignity, and we all deserve respect. And so I think it’s important to be open to understanding the humanity that exists within all of us, I will tell you from a personal experience. When I came to this country, I was about six years old, and I grew up in a small town in Texas that was what you would consider to be like a big Texas football town, and there were very small number of immigrants or people of color in the town, and the people who helped me strive through school were white conservative individuals who connected with me through their own humanity. We need to cut through the political rhetoric of the different political parties and really to know that, you know, we are all human beings, and we’re all here for the same thing, which is to be able to provide the best that we can for our children and that as immigrants, not only are we contributing economically to this nation, and not only are we working from their service industries to also being innovators and entrepreneurs, it’s also that, you know, we bring our culture, we bring our food, we bring, you know, our different practices that get adapted and integrated, and that’s so evident in American society, right? And so our policies have to, in a certain sense, reflect that culture and that inclusiveness that has been adapted. We’re all hard working, and we’ve come to the same things that even our forefathers come like Alexander Hamilton, and you know some of these other you know, big, known names who are immigrants and who came to this country, who are here to make it better. I think my wish is that if we can cut through the noise, if we could cut through the misperceptions and the racism that exists in this nation and that really see ourselves as individuals and the humanity that that we bring, that hopefully, we can build a better future now for our children and for everyone else who is in this country.

Selley Abebe  28:30  

For people listening, you know, we have a network of ambassadors that are champions for children across the country, you know, for those people that are listening, that want to help, but just don’t know where to start, because it feels overwhelming. What’s one thing that they can do right now to support immigrant families and children?

Adriana Cadena  28:51  

Yeah, so I’m gonna cheat and give you three. Okay, we like options. So one very simple thing you can do is follow us, the PIV coalition, our social media, we always put up different opportunities to advocate and to understand and to know what’s happening within within immigrant communities. The second thing is, if you are part of a nonprofit organization, encourage you to join the coalition. Our coalition is a national coalition that is working at the intersection of immigrant and access to public benefits, and so our role here is to be able to gather and build power and leverage power so immigrant families can have access to health, nutrition and different economic opportunities. So join us. You can go to PIV coalition.org/join, to join the coalition, and then you’ll receive all kinds of information in ways that your organization can get involved and engaged. And then a third thing that is really, really important that I’ve mentioned before is to really tell the story of the impact that this is having. So talk to your member of Congress about the impact that this is going to have to children in terms. So of these different policies that are taking place right now, and how they’re going to be losing food and access to nutrition and so forth. And it’s really important to be an advocate, and it’s really and thank you for those who are advocates, and it’s really important to uplift the impact that this is going to have to families.

Selley Abebe  30:17  

I love that. And we end the podcast with asking all of our guests, you know, what’s a song or an album that just resets you and keeps you moving forward when things get hard?

Adriana Cadena  30:31  

So there’s this one song by Los Tigres Del Norte, which is a Mexican regional band, but extremely famous among Spanish speakers. And there’s a song called America that they have. It’s very upbeat, but it talks about how, you know, when you’re born on this continent of the Americas, we’re all American. And I really love this song because one is upbeat and it gets you moving and dancing, but also because it’s really a, I think, a way to tell those of us who are immigrants, who were born in Mexico, Central America or Latin America, that we’re all Americans, and we all deserve to be here, and it’s important to recognize who we are and to know that we belong. 

Selley Abebe  31:11  

I love that. Adriana, thank you so much for your time. I appreciate you being here with us today.

Adriana Cadena  31:17  

Thank you. Thank you for the opportunity to be here. 

Selley Abebe  31:22  

Listening to Adriana, one thing really sticks out. When we deny care to immigrant parents, we’re also denying care to their kids, and that just doesn’t hurt one family, it weakens whole communities and economies. Her reminder was simple but powerful. We’re all connected when kids have access to food, healthcare and safety, everyone thrives when families feel welcomed and protected, neighborhoods grow stronger. So here are my takeaways from this week. Wherever you are, your voice matters. Tell your story, call your representatives and stand with people who keep our communities whole. If this episode helped you see something differently, share it. Send it to a friend, a teacher or someone in your community who cares about kids and fairness as much as you do and don’t forget to leave a rating or review. It helps more listeners find speaking of kids. Speaking of Kids is a podcast by First Focus on Children. It’s produced by wind Haven productions and blue jay Atlantic. Elizabeth Windom is the supervising producer. Julia Windom is the editor. Jay Woodward is the supervising producer. For more information about this episode, visit first focus.org.