March

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.

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.

Since the Dobbs v. Jackson decision in 2022, abortion access has been increasingly restricted—especially in states with both anti-abortion and anti-immigrant policies. Immigrant women, particularly those who are undocumented, face compounded barriers including poverty, lack of insurance, legal exclusion, and fear of criminalization or deportation. Many resort to self-managed or unsafe abortions due to limited access and heightened fear. Despite their vulnerability, immigrant women are vastly underrepresented in abortion research and policy discussions. As reproductive and immigration restrictions converge, these women stand at the intersection of risk, facing grave threats to their health, rights, and autonomy.

Main page listing all the articles / presentations at the 2025 Council on Contemporary Families Symposium.