Abstract
Objectives. To examine how having a parent deported in childhood and immigration enforcement encounters relate to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among a sample of US-born Latinos.
Methods. In 2021, a national sample of 1784 US-born Latinos was recruited to complete a questionnaire. The questionnaire elicited data on sociodemographics, mental health, and immigration-related experiences. The dependent variable was past-year symptoms of PTSD. Immigration-related variables included (1) having a parent deported during their childhood, (2) having a (nonparent) family member deported, (3) fear of having a parent or loved one deported, (4) fear of immigration enforcement encounters, and (5) having experienced an immigration raid. A multivariable logistic regression was conducted to examine independent associations between immigration-related variables and PTSD.
Results. Having a parent deported during childhood was associated with more than twice the odds of meeting criteria for PTSD symptoms. Having a loved one deported, fearing the deportation of a loved one, and having experienced an immigration raid were all associated with PTSD.
Conclusions. It is imperative to better understand the long-term implications of immigration policies in perpetuating health inequities among US-born Latinos. (Am J Public Health. 2024;114(S6):S495–S504. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2024.307660)
The past 2 decades have been marked by an intensified increase in immigration enforcement activities aimed at identifying, apprehending, and deporting undocumented immigrants from the United States. Immigration enforcement efforts also target immigrants with criminal histories, regardless of documentation status (e.g., undocumented, legal permanent resident), as they are perceived to be a significant threat to public safety.1 Deportations noticeably increased during the Obama administration (2009–2017), reaching unprecedented numbers. In 2012, more than 409 000 immigrants were deported from the country1—a record high in the country’s history and a 116% increase from 2001. In total, the Obama administration was responsible for the deportation of more than 3 million immigrants.2 The next presidential administration, the Trump administration (2018–2022), was marked with aggressive immigration enforcement efforts and anti-immigrant rhetoric.3 Within the short span of four years, the Trump administration deported almost 1 million immigrants. On average, about 288 000 immigrants are deported annually and there are no signs or expectations that deportations will decrease in the near future.4 Early reports indicate that immigration enforcement and deportations have picked up since 2022.5 In the past 20 years, the United States has deported more than 5.8 million immigrants, including 3.5 million immigrants in the past decade alone.6 These statistics underscore the magnitude and pervasiveness of deportations in the United States.
Importantly, deportations and immigration enforcement weigh heavily on Latino communities. Immigration enforcement policies, including deportations, have historically targeted Mexican (and Latino) immigrants. For example, in 1954 more than 1.3 million Mexican individuals were deported from the United States under Operation Wetback7—the largest mass deportation campaign in the country’s history, which was specifically designed to target Mexican immigrants. The mass deportation of Latino immigrants continues to this day. Latinos make up more than 90% of all immigrants currently in detention centers and more than 90% of all immigrants deported in any given year.8 Relatedly, US-born Latinos are not universally protected from immigration enforcement encounters, despite not being immigrants. Immigration enforcement is rooted in racial profiling and Latinos are the prime targets. Latino individuals (regardless of immigration status) are overwhelmingly more likely to be targeted by immigration and law enforcement. For example, in Arizona, law enforcement can legally ask individuals about their immigration status during ‘lawful’ stops; Latinos make up more than 75% of these stops.9 During immigration raids, officials commonly divide individuals by their racial/ethnic profile—persons who look Latino are grouped together and questioned, while White individuals are routinely dismissed or ignored.10 Not surprisingly, reports of US-born Latinos being detained, being unlawfully stopped and having their citizenship status scrutinized, and in extreme cases even being deported from the country, are ubiquitous.9–14 Lastly, US-born Latinos are affected by the deportations of their parents, family members, and loved ones. National surveys indicate that between 2011 and 2021, the percentage of US-born Latinos who personally knew someone who had been deported grew from 24% to 33%.15,16 Immigration enforcement is a significant and growing source of stress and anguish for Latinos, including US-born Latinos.
Importantly, emergent research has started to document the health harms associated with immigration enforcement and the deportations of parents and family members among US-born Latinos. Research with US-born Latino children has found that having a parent deported is a traumatizing and disruptive life event that is associated with extreme psychological distress, anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), externalizing behaviors (e.g., aggression), difficulties sleeping, and disruptions to education.17 Mental health harms associated with parental and family deportations also extend to adults but have been much less studied in this population. One study among US-born Latino adults found that those with deported immigrants (e.g., parent, family member) in their social networks were at greater risk for psychological distress, anxiety, and depression.18 Another study also found that experiencing an immigration raid was associated with greater risk to substance misuse among US-born Latino adults,16 but associations with mental health status were not explored. Immigration enforcement may produce additional stressors for US-born Latinos, particularly those with immigrant parents and family members, which may ultimately shape their mental health status.
METHODS
The present study extends the current evidence base on the mental health implications of immigration enforcement among a sample of US-born Latino adults by addressing 2 important scientific gaps. Although parental deportations have been shown to influence mental health negatively, this body of work has almost exclusively focused on children and on short-term, immediate effects. Virtually nothing is known about the mental health, including PTSD, of US-born Latino adults who had a parent deported during their childhood. Furthermore, to our knowledge, current studies have not addressed how other immigration enforcement-related stressors (e.g., experiencing an immigration raid, fear of the deportation of parents and family members) relate to the mental health, namely PTSD, among US-born Latino adults. As such, the main objective of this study was to investigate associations between immigration enforcement (e.g., childhood parental deportations, experiencing an immigration raid) and PTSD symptoms using a national sample of US-born Latinos.
Study Design and Study Population
In 2021, a sample of 1784 US-born Latino adults were recruited to complete an online survey. Eligible participants were those who identified as Latino, were born in the United States, and were adults aged 18 years or older. Participants were recruited using a Centiment webpanel, which consists of contact information (e.g., email addresses) for individuals who have already agreed to participate in survey research. Webpanels are designed to be representative of the general population by recruiting panel participants through targeted sampling techniques using public and proprietary resources (e.g., emails, social media). Webpanel participants were randomly selected and invited to participate in the study through a notification on their personal dashboard account. Interested participants first completed a short screener questionnaire to determine study eligibility. Those who met study eligibility criteria were then invited to complete the online survey. Of the 3482 individuals that completed the screener questionnaire, 1784 met study eligibility criteria and completed the online survey. Participants received $5 for their participation.
Measures
We took an analytic approach to consider the impact of immigration-related issues by sociodemographic and immigration-related characteristics.
Posttraumatic stress disorder
The dependent variable for the present study is past-year PTSD symptoms, which was assessed using the 4-item startle, physiological arousal to reminders, anger, and numbness (SPAN) questionnaire.19 The SPAN questionnaire asks individuals to rate how much they have been bothered by the following four problems in the past month: (1) feeling jumpy or easily startled, (2) feeling irritable or having angry outbursts, (3) feeling emotionally numb or being unable to have loving feelings for those close to you, and (4) having physical reactions (e.g., heart pounding, trouble breathing, sweating) when something reminded you of a stressful experience. Response options include not at all, a little bit, moderately, quite a bit, and extremely. Each response option is associated with a numeric value ranging from 0 (i.e., “not at all”) to 4 (i.e., “extremely”). Total scores are then summed, and a score of 5 or more is indicative of a positive screen for PTSD. The SPAN questionnaire has demonstrated good test-retest reliability, internal consistency, and validity for detecting a likely diagnosis of PTSD.19
Sociodemographic characteristics
Sociodemographic characteristics included gender (male, female), age (in years), Latino-origin (Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central American, South American, Caribbean), parental nativity (at least 1 parent is an immigrant or both parents were born in the United States), highest educational attainment (less than a high school diploma, graduated high school, some college, graduate school or more), employment status (employed part- or full-time or unemployed), annual household income (< $20 000, $20 000–$34 999, 35 000–$49 999, $50 000–$74 999, $75 000–$99 999, > $100 000), and health insurance status (insured, uninsured).
Immigration enforcement variables
Participants were asked a series of questions about immigration-related issues. Participants were asked if they personally knew anyone who had been deported and asked to indicate their relationship with the deported individual (mother, father, sibling, uncle, aunt, grandfather, grandmother, cousin, close friend, coworker, or community member). Participants who had a parent deported were asked how old they were at the time of the deportation and in what year the deportation occurred. Using these data, we created variables to characterize participants as having had a parent deported during their childhood (yes versus no) and as having had a loved one deported (siblings, extended family, close friends, but not including a parent; yes or no). Additionally, those who reported having had a parent deported during their childhood were asked to give the main reason that initially led to their parent being detained and then deported. Response options included immigration reasons (e.g., overstaying a visa, violating immigration laws such as falsifying legal documents), an immigration raid at work or in the community, a minor offense (e.g., traffic violation), a non-drug-related offense (e.g., robbery, assault, domestic violence, firearm offense), or a drug-related offense (e.g., using drugs, selling drugs, drug possession). Participants also self-reported adverse consequences resulting from their parent being deported, including emotional consequences (e.g., fear, worry, stress, anxiety), financial insecurity (e.g., loss of income, had to borrow money), housing insecurity (e.g., had to move in with family or friends, had to move to a smaller house or apartment), food insecurity (e.g., loss of income to buy food), educational consequences (e.g., couldn’t concentrate at school, grades went down), and need for social welfare assistance (e.g., need for supplemental nutrition assistance programs, housing assistance). All response options were yes or no.
Lastly, participants were asked if they ever feared or worried about having a family member (e.g., sibling, uncle, aunt, cousin) deported, being stopped or questioned about their immigration status by immigration officials, if they had ever experienced an immigration raid, if they perceived anti-immigration sentiments in their state or community where they reside, and if they had ever experienced an anti-immigrant encounter (e.g., being told to “go back to your country” or be called a xenophobic term such as ‘wetback’—a derogatory term historically used to describe undocumented Mexican immigrants, but currently extends to all Latinos, immigrants and nonimmigrants).
Analytic approach
We first generated descriptive statistics to characterize our study sample stratifyied by PTSD symptoms. Bivariate associations between sociodemographic characteristics, immigration enforcement variables, and PTSD symptoms were tested using the χ2 test for dichotomous variables and the t-test for continuous variables. We then conducted a multivariable logistic regression model to assess independent associations between all immigration enforcement variables and PTSD symptoms. In building this multivariable logistic model, we controlled for socio-demographic characteristics that were statistically significant in the bivariate analyses described previously, which included gender, age, and educational attainment. Lastly, we generated descriptive frequencies of deportation-related characteristics among participants who reported having a parent deported during their childhood (n = 72) to aid in the interpretation of results. All statistical analyses were conducted using Stata version 15 software (StataCorp LP, College Station, TX).
RESULTS
Sociodemographic and immigration-related characteristics stratified by PTSD status are provided in Table 1. On average, participants were 33 years of age (range = 18–79 years), had at least some college education, and had an annual household income of $35 000 or more. Less than half (46%) of the sample was male. Participants were primarily of Mexican descent (63%), followed by Puerto Rican (19%), Central American (6%), South American (5%), Cuban (4%), and Caribbean (3%). Almost half (48%) of participants had at least 1 parent who was an immigrant. Those who reported PTSD symptoms were younger (mean age = 30 years vs 36 years; P < .001), less likely to be men (40% vs 52%; P < .001), less likely to be college educated, and had less of an annual household income than those who did not meet criteria for a likely diagnosis of PTSD.
TABLE 1—
Sociodemographic and Immigration-Related Characteristics of US-Born Adult Latinos Stratified by Symptoms of PTSD: United States, 2021
| Total (n = 1784), No. (%) or Mean ± SD |
Symptoms of PTSD | P a | ||
| No (n = 953, 53%), No. (%) or Mean ± SD |
Yes (n = 831, 47%), No. (%) or Mean ± SD |
|||
| Sociodemographic characteristics | ||||
| Male gender | 829 (46) | 499 (52) | 330 (40) | < .001 |
| Age, y | 13.14 ± 33.87 | 14.14 ± 36.47 | 11.18 ± 30.89 | < .001 |
| Latino Origin | .99 | |||
| Mexico | 1119 (63) | 599 (63) | 520 (63) | |
| Puerto Rico | 346 (19) | 186 (20) | 160 (19) | |
| Cuba | 74 (4) | 38 (4) | 36 (4) | |
| Central America | 115 (6) | 63 (7) | 52 (6) | |
| South America | 85 (5) | 45 (5) | 40 (5) | |
| Caribbean | 45 (3) | 22 (2) | 23 (3) | |
| At least 1 parent is an immigrant | 861 (48) | 457 (48) | 404 (49) | .78 |
| Educational attainment | .042 | |||
| Less than a high school diploma | 85 (5) | 51 (5) | 34 (4) | |
| Graduated high school | 551 (31) | 276 (29) | 275 (33) | |
| Some college | 622 (35) | 323 (34) | 299 (36) | |
| College degree or more | 526 (29) | 303 (32) | 223 (27) | |
| Employed part- or full-time | 1182 (66) | 623 (65) | 559 (67) | |
| Annual household income, $ | .4 | |||
| < 20 000 | 424 (24) | 208 (22) | 216 (26) | .013 |
| 20 000–34 999 | 383 (21) | 200 (21) | 183 (22) | |
| 35 000–49 999 | 306 (17) | 161 (17) | 145 (17) | |
| 50 000–74 999 | 299 (17) | 171 (18) | 128 (15) | |
| 75 000–99 999 | 195 (11) | 99 (10) | 96 (12) | |
| > 100 000 | 177 (10) | 114 (12) | 63 (8) | |
| Has health insurance | 1361 (76) | 712 (75) | 649 (78) | .08 |
| Immigration enforcement variables | ||||
| Had a parent deported during their childhood | 72 (4) | 18 (2) | 54 (6) | < .001 |
| Had a loved one deported (not a parent) | 530 (30) | 221 (23) | 309 (37) | < .001 |
| Fear of having a parent, family, or close friend deported | 627 (35) | 244 (26) | 383 (46) | < .001 |
| Fear of immigration enforcement encounters | 446 (25) | 175 (18) | 271 (33) | < .001 |
| Experienced an immigration raid | 191 (11) | 70 (7) | 121 (15) | < .001 |
Note. PTSD = posttraumatic stress disorder. The sample size was n = 1784.
χ2 test for categorical or dichotomous variables; t-test for continuous variables.
Within the context of immigration-related characteristics, 4% of the sample reported having had a parent deported during their childhood, and 30% had a loved one (other than a parent) deported. A bit more than one third (35%) of participants reported being fearful of having a parent, family, or close friend deported, and one quarter (25%) reported being fearful of immigration enforcement encounters. Compared with those who did not report PTSD symptoms, those who reported PTSD symptoms were significantly more likely to have experienced an immigration raid, to have had a parent or loved one deported, to fear the potential deportation of a parent or loved one, or to fear immigration encounters.
Table 2 displays results from our multivariable logistic model that examined independent associations between immigration enforcement variables and PTSD symptoms, while controlling for gender, age, and educational attainment. All immigration enforcement variables, with the exception of fear of immigration encounters, were associated with elevated odds of PTSD symptoms. Notably, having had a parent deported during childhood was strongly associated with PTSD symptoms. Childhood parental deportations were associated with more than twice the adjusted odds (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.23; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.27, 3.94) of meeting criteria for a likely PTSD diagnosis, net of model control variables. Having experienced the deportation of a loved one other than a parent (AOR = 1.46; 95% CI = 1.15, 1.85) and being fearful of having a parent, family member, or close friend deported (AOR = 1.44; 95% CI = 1.09, 1.91) were also associated with elevated odds of reporting PTSD symptoms. Lastly, having experienced an immigration raid was associated with 1.55 times the odds of meeting criteria for a likely PTSD diagnosis.
TABLE 2—
Factors Associated With Parental Deportation and Immigration Enforcement and Symptoms of PTSD Among US-Born Latino Adults: United States, 2021
| Symptoms of PTSD, AOR (95% CI) | |
| Sociodemographic characteristics | |
| Gender | |
| Female (Ref) | 1 |
| Male | 0.71 (0.58, 0.87) |
| Age (continuous) | 0.97 (0.96, 0.98) |
| Educational attainment | |
| Less than high school (Ref) | 1 |
| Graduated high school | 1.49 (0.92, 2.41) |
| Some college | 1.52 (0.94, 2.45) |
| College degree or more | 1.33 (0.81, 2.17) |
| Immigration enforcement variables | |
| Had a parent deported during childhood (vs did not have parent deported during childhood) | 2.23 (1.27, 3.94) |
| Had a loved one deported (not parent; vs did not have a loved one deported) | 1.46 (1.15, 1.85) |
| Fear of having a parent, family, or close friend deported (vs do not fear having a parent, family, or close friend deported) | 1.44 (1.09, 1.91) |
| Fear of immigration enforcement encounters (vs do not fear immigration enforcement encounters) | 1.20 (0.89, 1.60) |
| Experienced an immigration raid (vs has not experienced an immigration raid) | 1.55 (1.10, 2.16) |
Note: AOR = adjusted odds ratio; CI = confidence interval; PTSD = posttraumatic stress disorder. The multivariable logistic regression model contained a sample size of n = 1748.
Table 3 reports deportation-related characteristics among participants who had a parent deported during childhood (n = 72) to help contextualize findings. US-born Latino adults most commonly reported having had their father deported (68%, n = 49), while slightly more than one third (36%, n = 26) of participants had their mother deported during childhood. Three participants (4%) reported experiencing the deportation of both their parents when they were children. On average, participants were 11 years old at the time of their parents’ deportations, which mostly occurred more than 4 years ago (58%). The main reasons that initially led to the detention of a deported parent included immigration reasons (28%), followed by an immigration raid or sweep (15%), minor offenses (14%), crime-related offenses (14%), and drug-related offenses (8%). Following the deportation of a parent, participants reported experiencing emotional issues (21%), financial insecurity (24%), loss of health insurance (10%), housing insecurity (8%), food insecurity (6%), and adverse educational consequences (6%). A total of 19% of participants reported needing social welfare assistance programs following the deportation of their parent.
TABLE 3—
Deportation-Related Characteristics Among US-Born Latino Adults Who Had a Parent Deported: United States, 2021
| Deportation-Related Characteristics | Total (n = 72), No. (%) or Mean ± SD |
| Father was deported | 49 (68) |
| Mother was deported | 26 (36) |
| Both parents were deported | 3 (4) |
| Age when parent was deported, y | 11.15 ± 11.88 |
| When the parent was deported | |
| Within the past 4 years | 30 (42) |
| More than 4 years ago | 42 (58) |
| Main reason the parent was initially detained prior to deportation | |
| Immigration reasons | 20 (280) |
| Immigration raid or sweep | 11 (15) |
| Minor offenses | 10 (14) |
| Crime-related offense (not drug-related) | 10 (14) |
| Drug-related offense | 6 (8) |
| Post-parental deportation consequences | |
| Emotional issues | 15 (21) |
| Financial insecurity | 17 (24) |
| Social welfare assistance | 14 (19) |
| Loss of health insurance | 7 (10) |
| Housing insecurity | 6 (8) |
| Food insecurity | 4 (6) |
| Adverse educational consequences | 4 (6) |
DISCUSSION
This study is the first, to our knowledge, to investigate associations between childhood parental deportations, immigration enforcement experiences, and mental health using a national sample of US-born Latino adults. Overall, we found that immigration enforcement experiences were associated with greater odds of reporting PTSD symptoms. Our findings provide further corroborating evidence suggesting that the impacts of deportations and immigration enforcement have spillover implications for the mental health and well-being of US-born Latinos.16–18 Our study also suggests that immigration enforcement experiences are not only a significant source of stress, but of trauma. This is not surprising given the multitude of adverse consequences associated with immigration enforcement, such as severe disruptions to the family unit. Results from our study can be used to inform PTSD and mental health prevention strategies, interventions, and policies aimed at improving health equity among Latinos, including US-born Latinos.
A major finding from this study was that childhood parental deportations were associated with PTSD symptoms among US-born Latino adults. Participants who reported having a parent deported in childhood had more than twice the odds of meeting criteria for a PTSD diagnosis as compared with their counterparts who had not been affected by deportations. This finding is aligned with studies that have linked parental deportations to poor mental health status, including symptoms of PTSD, among US-born children of immigrants.12 Our finding is novel in that this is the first study to document an association between childhood parental deportations and PTSD symptoms using an adult sample. In our study, parental deportations typically occurred when children were relatively young. Parental separation resulting from deportation can be conceptualized as an adverse childhood experience given the trauma and disruption that this life event yields. Latino children who had a parent deported commonly report experiencing extreme worry over the safety of their parent and the family unit, financial insecurity (e.g., loss of income, 2-parent households becoming single-parent households, difficulties paying rent or mortgage, utilities, food, daycare, educational expenses), loss of health insurance, and an increased need for safety net programs (e.g., food stamps, housing assistant).20–25 Furthermore, US-born children are commonly present when their parent is being detained and forced to witness their parent being treated as a criminal, which further adds to the trauma of this life event. Our finding is also consistent with a large empirical body of evidence that has undoubtedly established that adverse childhood experiences, such as parental deportations, have long-lasting mental health effects, including PTSD.26
Relatedly, we also found that the deportation of a loved one (not including a parent) was also associated with PTSD symptoms. US-born Latinos who reported having a loved one (sibling, extended family member, close friend) deported were more likely to report PTSD symptoms than their counterparts who had never been directly affected by the deportation of a loved one. Other studies have also started to shed light on the fact that, beyond parental deportations, experiencing the deportation of other family members and close loved ones is also an emotionally stressful experience with mental health implications.11,18 Furthermore, the mere anticipation of having a parent or loved one deported may be enough to produce significant emotional distress, as has been previously documented.11,27 We found that fear of having a parent, family member, or close friend deported was associated with a 44% increased likelihood of reporting symptoms of PTSD. In a qualitative study with 22 US-born Latino adults, participants described having difficult conversations regarding what the family unit would do in the event of a deportation, an overwhelming sense of responsibility to protect their immigrant parents and family members from immigration encounters, and significant stress for having to take on caregiver roles and other responsibilities.11 Participants in this study linked these circumstances to their psychological distress and poor mental health status. Our study provides quantitative evidence that the anticipation of potential deportation may be linked to PTSD symptoms.
Lastly, we found that having ever experienced an immigration raid was associated with increased odds of meeting criteria for a likely PTSD diagnosis. Immigration raids have long been a source of significant stress for Latino immigrants.28 However, US-born Latinos are also vulnerable to being detained and questioned if they find themselves in the midst of an immigration raid, especially if they work in sectors with a high representation of Latino immigrant employees (e.g., service industry, agricultural work, meatpacking, construction), as these workplace sites have been frequently targeted by immigration enforcement.29 During an immigration raid, heavily armed officials commonly detain all “Latino-appearing” individuals and question their citizenship or immigration status.10 Raids are typically conducted by surprise as means to prevent undocumented immigrants from evading apprehension, and they are chaotic and violent. Health professionals have described the long-lasting emotional and mental health consequences of immigration raids as being on par with experiences of war zones and natural disasters.14,28 It is not surprising that experiencing an immigration raid, being detained and potentially handcuffed, and having to prove your citizenship status is a trauma-inducing life event for anyone. This is also concerning given that the frequency of workplace raids has increased significantly in recent years.29
Limitations
Some limitations should be considered when interpreting our results. The study sample was recruited using online methods and through nonprobability sampling. However, webpanels are designed to be more representative of the general population as compared with convenience sampling. Participants are recruited into webpanels using diverse and targeted sampling techniques that aim to make the panel representative of the US population. Nonetheless, findings may be biased toward those with access to the Internet, a web-based device (e.g., smart phone), those who are technology literate, and those of higher socio-economic status. The Centiment webpanel that was used to recruit participants does not collect data on how many invitations are sent out to potential participants. Therefore, we are unable to calculate a response rate for our study. We acknowledge that those who agreed to complete our study screener and subsequent survey (if eligible) may differ from those who decided not to participate. Furthermore, the cross-sectional nature of our study hinders us from making causal inferences between immigration enforcement experiences and PTSD symptoms. Along these lines, our findings may also be subject to omitted variable bias as we did not collect data on experiences that may have also influenced PTSD symptoms, such as prior discrimination and traumatic experiences (e.g., physical or emotional abuse). These data would have allowed us to further evaluate the independent association between immigration enforcement variables and PTSD symptoms when accounting for other traumatic experiences that are unrelated to immigration enforcement. Future studies should consider longitudinal study designs to establish the temporality of associations and include measures for experiences known to be associated with PTSD. Lastly, the sensitive nature of our study topic may have discouraged some people from participating, thereby introducing bias. However, our survey was completely anonymous and self-administered online, which likely reduced self-selection and social desirability bias. Despite these limitations, our study provides data on a critical and timely topic that is understudied among US-born Latino adults.
Conclusion
Given the continued high rates of immigration enforcement activities, detentions, and deportations it is imperative that we better understand their public health implications. Immigration scholars have continually highlighted the harms associated with immigration enforcement, which often times creates more emotional and psychological harm than protect safety. This is especially sobering when we consider that the majority of deported immigrants (including those who are parents of US-born children) are deported for nonviolent and innocuous offenses (e.g., traffic violations).30 Protecting the health of US-born Latinos who are an important and growing subset of the Latino population, closely connected to immigrant communities and disproportionately affected by immigration enforcement issues, is critical for the public health of the nation. Currently, more than 16.7 million US-born Latinos have an undocumented immigrant parent who is vulnerable to being deported.31 As such, a sizeable proportion of the US population is at risk for experiencing deportation, including negative encounters with immigration officials fueled by anti-immigrant sentiments and racial profiling. Our study sheds light on immigration enforcement as a socio-structural determinant of health that is often overlooked among US-born populations and may contribute to existing health inequities. Given the enormous potential impact of deportations and immigration enforcement on population health and health inequities, it is imperative that we better understand the long-term effects of immigration enforcement on mental health to inform local, state, and national policy changes designed to improve health equity.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work was supported in part by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (R01AA027767).
Note. The content is solely the responsibility of the author and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
The authors have no conflicts of interest.
HUMAN PARTICIPANT PROTECTION
The study protocol was reviewed and approved the by Institutional Review Board of the University of Texas at Austin.
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