Mental health experts are worried as the Trump administration pursues new policy that would allow it to indefinitely detain migrant families who have crossed the U.S. border illegally, rather than a maximum of 20 days NPR reports. Detainment is damaging children's mental health, they say. "If the regulation goes through and we hope it will not ... we're going to see additional harm done to children," Luis Zayas, a clinical social worker and psychologist at the University of Texas at Austin, told NPR.
Long Detainment Stays = Trauma
Detained immigrant children and families already face big stress, according to a recent study. Researchers interviewed 425 mothers of children at the detention center. The mothers filled out a questionnaire about mental health symptoms in their ...
Latino kids who experience the immigration-related arrest of a family member report more severe levels of depression than those who don’t have such an experience, according to new research. This is especially true for children who have one or both parents undocumented. “These arrests often are a distant abstract fear or urban legend for many Latino kids, but it becomes very real and frightening when it happens to their family, which can have serious repercussions for their mental health,” said lead researcher Dr. Zachary Giano of Oklahoma State University, in a press release.
Distressing Findings
The research, led by Oklahoma State University, is published in the American Psychological Association's journal Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology. The scientists ...
As of 2017, the U.S. is home to roughly 44 million immigrants – the largest number of immigrants in the world, according to the Migration Policy Institute. The majority of immigrants are Latino. They relocate from Mexico as well as other countries such as El Salvador, Cuba, Dominican Republic, India, China, the Philippines, and Vietnam. To protect immigrant health—as well as the general public wellness—scientists from the Society of Behavioral Health (SBM) recommend that congress impose strict restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) intervention in or around medical facilities. "Protecting the health of immigrants promotes health equity and is an important investment in protecting the health of the American public including schools, families, communities, ...
The Trump Administration has announced its final decision regarding the public charge rule, which is set to take effect Oct. 15, 2019. This new regulation changes the policies used to decide whether the officials can deny an individual's citizenship application or modifications to their citizenship status if they are determined likely to become a public charge, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. The changes could considerably reduce the number of legal immigrants permitted to enter and stay in the U.S. — by making it easier to reject green card and visa applications. The new rule is bad news for public health, according to Mark Del Monte, CEO and Interim Executive Vice President of the American Academy of Pediatrics. "[We] strongly opposes the final rule issued ...
Latino workers are more likely to die on the job than anyone else. Most of the Latinos killed are also immigrants, according to a news report by KALW radio. “In 2017, we lost 376 workers [in California],” Jora Trang, a managing attorney at the labor rights’ organization Worksafe, told KALW. “That’s more than one worker a day.”
Latinos & Job Fatalities
Latinos have disproportionately died on the job for quite some time. In 2016, 879 Latino workers were killed on the job. In 2017, that number rose to 903. This puts the Latino fatality rate higher than the national job fatality rate for all workers, Latino Rebels reports. “This is a national crisis. And it’s well past time that our elected leaders in Washington, D.C., stop playing politics and take ...
Medical access can be a determining factor in whether or not someone lives a healthy life. Lack of healthcare treatment especially impacts undocumented Mexican immigrants, according to new findings published in the Journal of Latinx Psychology. Not only does this have immediate effects on Latinos, but research also shows this demographic can suffer long-term psychological and physical impairments related to their migration, according toTexas Medical Center News (TMCN). “We knew there was a high prevalence of loss and trauma in this population—we expect it because we know the many challenges they face. However, they were so much higher than I could even imagine, particularly in terms of repeated exposure or multiple losses,” said Dr. Luz Garcini, the study’s lead author and a ...
California media portray immigrants with derogatory descriptions with regularity, while immigrant voices and healthcare are rarely covered, according to a new report by Berkeley Media Studies Group (BMSG). The BMSG report examined over 2,500 immigration articles in 2017-2018 in California: Monterey (58.8% Latino), Sacramento (23.3% Latino), Kern (53.4% Latino), and San Diego (39.1% Latino). Researchers found neutral descriptors of immigrants—“undocumented” or “unauthorized”—in most media coverage. But they also found potentially dehumanizing terms—“illegal immigrants,” “illegal aliens,” or “illegals”—in nearly every news outlet, and 13% of all articles examined. No coverage focused on the health and well-being of immigrants, either. "The hostile ...
Steve Long knows the mission of the Children's Museum of the East End is to spark imagination, play, and learning for all children in Bridgehampton, N.Y. (21% Latino). But the museum has risen to a new level under Long's leadership as executive director. It has become a Latino community hub. Long and the museum leaders host an afterschool science program for Spanish-speaking students. They partnered to host "safe space" workshops for Latino immigrants. They helped start an eight-week music program to enhance Spanish-speakers' literacy skills. They even added a mini-golf course with science-based facts in English and Spanish. "[The museum] is having a lifelong impact on the development of Latino children and their families through these programs," Long said.
The ...
Latinos are more likely than their peers to have mental health issues, which usually go unaddressed and untreated, according to a Salud America! research review. And with today’s anti-immigrant climate, the mental health of Latinos continues to suffer. Fear of deportation, mainly those in immigrant communities, is one of the main reasons mental health goes untreated. But there’s good news! Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital's Disparities Research Unit have tested a novel preventive intervention designed to provide tailored treatment for Latino immigrants with both mental health and substance misuse symptoms, according to a press release. This research is a collaboration between teams in Spain, U.S. and Puerto Rico. "We know that Latino patients benefit when ...
