Publications

This research explores the intensification of anti-immigrant policies in the United States, particularly under Donald Trump’s presidency, which weaponized the “Immigrant Threat Narrative” to justify mass deportations, family separations, and harsh enforcement tactics. Drawing from community-based research with undocumented Central American mothers in Washington, DC, findings reveal widespread fear, depression, and material hardship resulting from immigration enforcement actions.

Immigration. Abortion. Anti-Trans laws. Student debt. Reversing the falling fertility rate. All these topics have been the subject of intense debates in the past several years, and some have been the subject of executive orders and new actions by the Trump administration in his first 50 days in office. In this symposium, the Council on Contemporary Families brings together leading experts on these topics to discuss how these policies affect families, and what to expect in the second Trump administration.

Our research has examined how student loans have affected American borrowers, and how their behavior changed during and after the loan pause. Further evidence suggests that student loan debt is leading to delays in family formation for many young adults, contributing to the record low childbearing rates and the record high typical age at first marriage seen in the United States today.

Examination of the Family First Act (FFA) to increase the CTC to as much as $4200, while also extending benefits to pregnant mothers. In this brief, we assess who will benefit most from changes to the CTC and whether it can effectively support families and halt falling fertility.

The COVID-19 pandemic was a stressful time for American adults. Indeed, rates of clinical depression and anxiety were 300% higher in the early days of the pandemic than they were the previous year. Not only was there substantial concern and worry about the virus itself, but social measures to stem the virus spread (i.e., lockdowns; school closures) created work-family stressors for many adults, parents especially.