As the illegal immigration issue continues to become a larger issue in the US, people are beginning to study the psychological affects of the way governmental agencies conduct their business on immigrants and their children. A recent study showed that immigration raids can have huge effects on children, including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety disorders.
This raises all sorts of issues that can complicate how to proceed with these affairs. The big question is whether deporting someone is worth the cost of the harm it can do to their children.At the three sites studied, officials had arrested 900 suspected illegal immigrants resulting in 500 children abruptly losing contact with their mother, father or both parents. That left them with a combination of unstable supervision, stress, emotional trauma and material needs that can lead to mental health disorders, researchers found.
(3 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
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3 Responses to “Immigration Raids & Mental Health” (Pingbacks/trackbacks not shown below)
Marianna at 12:22 pm on
November 11th, 2007
The immigration laws are logical, but they do not take into consideration that the parents were following their nature trying to find the best for their children, immigrating from a poor country to a more developed one. However, couldn’t they have predicted what would happened to their children if they are discovered as illegal?
Obviously due to such a crucial change in their lives, the little children minds’ damage is going to be equal to what the terrorist attacks’ victims have discovered; a crude and harsh attitude towards them and their parents.
Michelle at 10:04 pm on
July 29th, 2008
For me this is such a multilevel issue. The first level is that -Very little attention is paid as to the reasons and causes for undocumented immigration. Many people who immigrate especially those coming from Central America- are coming from countries with histories of long and very violent civil wars. Wars that the United States funded and even trained forces in. As a US born Citizen, it saddens me - how little responsibility our country takes in the aftermath of wars we contribute to.
The second level of this to me is not a question of if ICE should enforce laws- it is about HOW. It is not necessary to strip fellow human beings of their natural born rights to dignity, respect, and due process. I think that people do not understand that it is not a matter of just an arrest and reading Miranda Rights- people are humiliated, mistreated, and many times their rights (yes in the US even undocumented people have rights) are violated. There are long standing psychological effects for those detained- for those deported- as well as for families and children left behind. As a Nation we need to do a much better job. A new clear reform policy is needed. Better training of ICE officials and a legal mandate stopping ICE abuse is needed.
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The immigration laws are logical, but they do not take into consideration that the parents were following their nature trying to find the best for their children, immigrating from a poor country to a more developed one. However, couldn’t they have predicted what would happened to their children if they are discovered as illegal?
Obviously due to such a crucial change in their lives, the little children minds’ damage is going to be equal to what the terrorist attacks’ victims have discovered; a crude and harsh attitude towards them and their parents.
For me this is such a multilevel issue. The first level is that -Very little attention is paid as to the reasons and causes for undocumented immigration. Many people who immigrate especially those coming from Central America- are coming from countries with histories of long and very violent civil wars. Wars that the United States funded and even trained forces in. As a US born Citizen, it saddens me - how little responsibility our country takes in the aftermath of wars we contribute to.
The second level of this to me is not a question of if ICE should enforce laws- it is about HOW. It is not necessary to strip fellow human beings of their natural born rights to dignity, respect, and due process. I think that people do not understand that it is not a matter of just an arrest and reading Miranda Rights- people are humiliated, mistreated, and many times their rights (yes in the US even undocumented people have rights) are violated. There are long standing psychological effects for those detained- for those deported- as well as for families and children left behind. As a Nation we need to do a much better job. A new clear reform policy is needed. Better training of ICE officials and a legal mandate stopping ICE abuse is needed.
