Moving Beyond a Deficit Ideology: Not all scholars think that immigrant children are “at risk”

Adopting a deficit ideology of youth of immigrant descent reflects the tendency to attribute the challenges faced by this group solely to perceived ‘deficiencies’ in their attitudes, behaviors, and moralities, while ignoring or downplaying structural barriers or systemic oppression. Importantly, the deep roots of deficit ideologies in Europe and the U.S. are intertwined and can be traced back to scholars who began to categorize and characterize humans along racialized lines. In this paper, we examine the broader sociohistorical contexts in Europe and the U.S. that laid the groundwork for deficit perspectives, highlight scholars who have long challenged a deficit narrative for minoritized children, and end with ways forward to advance a more accurate and comprehensive understanding of immigrant youth that moves beyond deficit ideologies.