Motherhood, Legal Status, and COVID-19: How Immigration Policies Shaped the Pandemic Experiences of Latina Immigrant Mothers

Immigration status is an important axis of stratification for Latino/a immigrants in the United States. This chapter examines how immigration status shaped the pandemic experiences of undocumented and documented Latina immigrant mothers. Drawing on 20 in-depth interviews, I argue that previous systems of exclusion became magnified during the pandemic and that immigration status bifurcated the pandemic experiences among documented and undocumented mothers. Findings reveal how undocumented and documented mothers faced uneven access to safety nets, negotiated the pressures of motherhood, and turned to family for support to weather the strains of the pandemic. This research demonstrates how exclusionary public benefit programs negatively affect undocumented immigrants and their children. It also emphasizes the chilling effects of public charge during the COVID-19 pandemic.