Psychological Effects Of Undocumented Immigrants

Furthermore, parents who are deported may also suffer from negative psychological and physical effects. In 2013, a study conducted by Human Impact Partners highlighted how health status and life expectancy can be affected by the threat of detention or deportation. This study showed how undocumented immigrant adult’s experience decreased health status for an individual. This decreased health status is primarily caused by a multitude of barriers in accessing care. However, fear of deportation proved to be the leading factor for stress. This stress caused undocumented immigrants to become less inclined to drive or report a crime, and have increased feelings of racial profiling. Additionally, undocumented adults were more likely to feel increased levels of stress (92%), fearfulness (88%), sadness (83%), withdrawal (69%) and anger (50%). (Human Impact Partners) Although these are not direct measures of health, they are reflections of scenarios which lead to heightened feelings of anxiety and stress. These heightened feelings of anxiety and stress can and do impact an individual’s overall long-term physical and mental health.
In addition to emotional …show more content…
has suffered negative physical and psychological effects from increased immigration enforcement over the last 26 years, unauthorized immigration into the U.S. continues to take place. As stated in Why Border Enforcement Backfired, researcher’s estimates revealed that the rapid growth in immigration enforcement ultimately had no effect on the likelihood of initiating undocumented migration to the United States but did have powerful unintended consequences, pushing migrants away from relatively benign crossing locations in El Paso and San Diego into hostile territory in the Sonoran Desert and through Arizona, increasing the need to rely on paid smugglers, and substantially increasing the costs and risks of undocumented migration. (Massey Prenn,