Nestor Lemus, Stresses and Fear Undocumented Immigrants Face

                           STRESSES AND FEAR UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS FACE    

    Challenges and Fears 

    Studies have shown that undocumented immigrants have had increased rates of fear as well as distrust of the U.S. legal system, this then ultimately causes decreased participation in civic life, including advocacy efforts. This also means that they are less likely of using the legal system even when they are being victims of illegal activities. This distrust can extend far beyond into the health care system and act as a barrier to care, Chhabra, Fortuna, and Montano (2021).

  Depending on the different race and or ethnic background and appearance, undocumented immigrants are more frequently profiled as gang members or other types of criminals. This sort of Profiling can lead to fear, anxiety, isolation, and a compromised sense of safety and identity in regards to undocumented immigrants, Chhabra, Fortuna, and Montano (2021). 

 Undocumented immigrants can at times be separated from their family and as for the children they can be placed in foster homes or other custodial arrangements. The separation from family can indeed be traumatic This goes especially for children which can also lead to mental health symptoms. In addition many studies have also shown that young children entering foster families at times tend to avoid engaging with a new caregiver and even if they are reunited with their birth parents they may respond to feelings of abandonment by rejecting them. This can then ultimately create a self perpetuating cycle that then goes on to prevent nurturing and responsive care as well as ultimately exacerbating dysfunctional family dynamics, Chhabra, Fortuna, and Montano (2021).

As can be seen from the image above there is indeed a very large amount of undocumented immigrants throughout the United States, Undocumented immigrants do not only make up a small portion of the population but instead make up close to the majority of the population and all with the same common

goal, to live a better and more safer life.   

Impacts Affecting Undocumented Immigrants Lives

 Hackers article on the impact of immigration and customs enforcement an immigrant health  ( as cited in Miller and Rasmussen, 2010, Silove et al., 2001, Steinberg, 2008) says the everlasting daily threat of discovery as well as deportation is what is likely to create fear and emotional distress from both documented and or undocumented immigrants this then thus delays and or completely prevents their integration into society.

The raising concerns in regards to the impact of ice activities on immigrant health indeed emerged in 2009 of the Everett community members reported immigrants missing health appointments due to their fear of being stopped in route by ice and or local police and being deported, Hacker et al. (2011).

Hackers article on the impact of immigration and customs enforcement an immigrant health  ( as cited in Asch et al., 1998, Asch et al., 1994, Berk and Schur, 2001, Fenton et al., 1996) says various studies on the impact of the proposition 187, which is a 1994 California state ballot initiative in which it prevented undocumented immigrants from accessing public funded healthcare, it was then found that immigrants feared obtaining medical care and laid or discontinued the health care they received as a result.

Personal Affect 

The reason that I decided to choose this specific issue in regards to immigration stresses is due to the reason that I feel there is a great majority of people around my community that suffer from stress in regards to their immigration status. Around my community there is many people that live in fear and or go through a variety of stressful situations all due to their immigration status. This sort of fear and or stress should not be something that the undocumented immigrant community should be facing, this fear and stress is what they are attempting to get away from when leaving there home countries in an attempt to be able to have a better and more stable life. Undocumented immigrants should be treated equally and given the same opportunities as any other person and not treated as a threat or as an enemy, at the end of the day we are all human and all want what is best for our families. 

Therefore this specific issue affects me directly due to me living in An area where there is A great amount of people who suffer from this difficult situation regarding immigration and not being able to live their lives in peace but instead live in fear due to the possibility of one day being deported and or separated from their families. This is indeed something very sad to see and, it is very sad to see the many families that live in constant fear due to the many obstacles and challenges that they have to face on a daily basis just to be able to have and or live a better life.

                                                                     References

Buchholz, K., & Richter, F. (2021, February 19). Infographic: Where Do Undocumented Immigrants Live 

    in the U.S.?Statista Infographics. https://www.statista.com/chart/18392/undocumented-us-population-

    by-state/.

Chhabra, D., Fortuna, L., & Montano, P. (2021). Stress & Trauma Toolkit. Undocumented Immigrants. 

    https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/cultural-competency/education/stress-and-

    trauma/undocumented-immigrants. 

Hacker, Karen, Chu, Jocelyn, Leung, Carolyn, Marra, Robert, Pirie, Alex, Brahimi, Mohamed, English, 

    Margaret, Beckmann, Joshua, Acevedo-Garcia, Dolores, & Marlin, Robert P. (2011). The impact of 

    Immigration and Customs Enforcement on immigrant health: Perceptions of immigrants in Everett, 

    Massachusetts, USA. Social Science & Medicine (1982), 73(4), 586–594. 

    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.06.007