Many immigrant children take on adult responsibilities early. They read medical forms, explain school letters, and speak for their parents in government offices. A new report from The Mendoza Law Firm looks at this experience, known as language brokering. It finds that up to 90% of immigrant and refugee children translate for their families to some degree.
Being bilingual is the norm for these children. About 56% of children with immigrant parents speak English fluently and also use another language at home. Only 10% speak English alone, and 21% have limited English themselves. For many, bilingualism comes from necessity. In 59% of these families, at least one parent has limited English, and 68% of children in those homes become bilingual. That often makes them the family’s link to schools, hospitals, and government agencies. Spanish is the home language for 71% of bilingual children of immigrants. The other 29% speak languages such as Hindi, Chinese, Arabic, French, and Vietnamese. The rate varies by city, from 69% to 71% in places like McAllen, Texas, and Bakersfield, California, to 26% to 32% in Honolulu and Jacksonville.
Translating for family can bring children closer to their parents and build language skills and independence. It also comes with pressure. Research shows that 18% to 20% of child language brokers experience significant psychological distress tied to that responsibility. Many of these children also worry about their parents’ immigration status. A 2025 survey published in Child Development Perspectives found that 27% of immigrant parents said their children worried about something immigration related happening to a family member. Among undocumented families, the share rose to six in ten. Parents also reported sleep or eating problems (18%), school performance or attendance problems (14%), and changes in behavior (12%). In addition, 14% of immigrant parents said their child had delayed or missed medical care because of immigration fears, rising to 43% among undocumented parents. The American Academy of Pediatrics considers fear of parental deportation and family separation a form of toxic stress that can harm a child’s physical, mental, and behavioral health, whether or not the child is a citizen.
Despite these pressures, children of immigrants do well by many measures. About 66% speak English fluently, and 92% complete high school, a rate comparable to their peers. As adults, second-generation Americans have higher median household incomes than first-generation adults ($58,000 vs. $46,000) and lower poverty rates (11% vs. 18%).
The language skills they build as children can also pay off financially. Multilingual employees earn an average of 19% more than workers who speak one language, with premiums ranging from 5% to 20% depending on the industry and language. Bilingual MBA graduates earn starting salaries up to 22% higher than their monolingual classmates. Employers need these skills: 90% of U.S. employers rely on some employees who speak languages other than English, and 56% expect that need to grow over the next five years. For a worker earning $80,000, a 19% premium adds about $15,200 a year, which could mean hundreds of thousands of dollars over a career.
The scale of this group is significant. About 32% of U.S. children under nine, roughly 10.8 million, grow up bilingual. More than 5.3 million English learners attend public schools, nearly 11% of all students. Overall, 26% of U.S. children have at least one immigrant parent, and 88% of those children are citizens.
The report concludes that the same skill that places heavy responsibility on children at home can become a lasting advantage when they reach adulthood. It also finds that the stress these children carry is significant and often overlooked.
