Undocumented immigrants' trauma compounded in U.S.
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Shoshana Gordon/Axios
Undocumented immigrants who relocate to the United States have often experienced significant trauma throughout their migration journey — but, for many, trauma persists after they settle in the U.S.
Driving the news: A recent study, co-authored by Rice University assistant professor Luz Garcini, found that immigrants without documentation face mental health issues and additional psychological distress after arriving in the U.S.
Background: The study interviewed 253 undocumented Latinx immigrants, the majority of whom came from Mexico and have been residing in the U.S. for approximately a decade.
- Garcini, the study's lead author, notes that a majority of research on immigrants' trauma focuses on psychological distress from their country of origin and through the migration journey.
Details: According to the study, lack of access to medical care, bodily abuse, beatings, sexual humiliation, and deprivation of food or water were significant factors that contributed to severe anxiety and depression after migration.
- Many of the struggles undocumented immigrants face after arriving in the U.S. stem from their lack of documentation, compounding the trauma from their migration journey, according to Garcini.
- She says they're often afraid to seek help because they don't want to be seen and forced to leave the country. She spoke to immigrants who faced severe burns from work and weren't able to access medical care, as well as domestic violence survivors who were afraid to report to the authorities.
What they're saying: "In their mind, they can survive the trauma that they're leaving behind in the hope for a new future," Garcini tells Axios. "But what happens when you come to the Promised Land — saying that in a rhetorical way — and you continue to face a lot of trauma?"
- "[I]t's almost like a crushing reality of what the American Dream is, of the ideal, which creates a lot of hardship for their mental health."
Zoom in: William July, a psychologist who runs a Houston clinic that works with undocumented immigrants, says Houston has more resources than other cities, due to its large immigrant population.
- Yes, but: He says there is still a strong need for more organizations and clinics that explicitly state they serve undocumented people.
What's next: Garcini is working on a new study focused on undocumented immigrants crossing the Texas-Mexico border who are largely Venezuelan and Colombian.
- Garcini tells Axios that the trauma has been magnified by the brutal migration journey from Central and South America followed by the rising anti-immigration climate and narrative immigrants face once they arrive in the U.S.
The bottom line: "The findings call attention to the need for urgent changes in immigration and health policy as well as the need for advocacy efforts," the authors write in the report.