How fear, rhetoric, and parental influence shape the next generation’s view of immigrants.
Public rhetoric does not stay in public spaces. In this episode of The Immigration Mastermind Podcast, Carlos Batara reflects on how hostility toward immigrants can filter from political discourse into family conversations — and ultimately onto school playgrounds. Drawing from real stories shared by colleagues and clients, he explores whether hatred is inherited or learned, and why responsibility begins at home.
Listen to the Episode
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Key Takeaways
- Hatred toward immigrants is not an inherent trait — it is learned behavior.
- Political rhetoric often finds its way into children’s language and actions.
- What parents say at home influences how children treat others at school.
- Teaching intolerance has moral consequences beyond policy debates.
- Future generations’ attitudes toward immigrants depend on what adults model today.
Full Transcript
Is the intense dislike of immigrants by some individuals an intrinsic trait?One which they inherit at birth? Or is it a learned behavior?
I’m Carlos Batara, with the Immigration Mastermind. Thanks for joining.
I was listening to a story a lawyer colleague shared recently. It’s a story that I have heard quite often from my own clients — mixed-status, often mixed-culture parents.
A U.S. citizen wife or husband, with an immigrant spouse, with school-aged children in elementary or middle school, who live in a middle-class neighborhood, not in a predominantly immigrant community area.
Earlier this year, the attorney said, other kids at the school where a client’s 12 year-old son attended picked up on the fact that his father did not have immigration status.
One day, they surrounded him and started yelling, “Build that wall. Build that wall. Build that wall.”
It’s one thing for adults to support the building of a wall at our nation’s ports of entry. It’s an entirely different matter for young kids to feel such an intense attraction to the issue.
What are they hearing at home?
What are their parents teaching them?
What we say and what we do as parents spews over into our children. Even onto the playground at school.
I do not believe this type of vile treatment towards immigrants is inherent, something we are born with.
I repeat.
I do not believe this type of vile treatment towards immigrants is inherent, something we are born with.
It’s learned behavior.
And frankly speaking, it’s wrong.
It’s not right to teach hate.
And vocalizing hate towards human beings from other countries is equally wrong.
I’ll go a step further.
It’s immoral.
What happens on playgrounds with children is on us, as parents.
I hope future generations are more tolerant and accepting of all types of human beings.
But here’s the kicker If they are to have any chance for success, it depends on you and me, today, to help steer the young ones in the right direction.
Thanks for listening.
And keep your chin up, no matter how hard the road ahead seems. Because together, we can make the world a better place, one immigrant at a time.
Why This Matters
Immigration debates often focus on laws, borders, and policies. But cultural attitudes shape immigrant experiences just as profoundly.
When hostility toward immigrants becomes normalized in households, it affects children long before they understand politics. This means responsibility for the tone of discourse on immigration issues for future generations rests not only on legislative representatives tomorrow, but also on the conversations and actions of parents today.
Related Podcast Episodes
- The Brave Man Is Not Without Fear
- Never Buy the Pessimism of Others
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For individualized legal guidance regarding your immigration case, visit Batara Immigration Law.
