Undocumented Mental Health
The link between legal status and mental health is well-documented in the literature. In my research I investigate how being illegalized by the nation-state puts the mental health of undocumented immigrants at risk. In the two publications below, my co-authors and I look at the mental health of undocumented young adults. I am interested in continuing in this line of research and I'm currently working on building a research team and developing a proposal to fund this research.
The Educational Trajectories of Latinx Undocumented Students: Illegality and Threats to Emotional Well-Being
For undocumented students, the high school–to–college pipeline is filled with social, economic, and psychological stressors. Yet very little is known about the impact of legal status on the experiences of undocumented Latinx college students living in states without tuition equity policies. Using qualitative data from 37 interviews exploring undocumented college students’ educational trajectories in Massachusetts and North Carolina, the authors examine the impact of legal status on the emotional well-being of undocumented Latinx students, including those who benefited from Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. The findings show that even when undocumented students gain access to higher education, barriers to legal status generate chronic feelings of despair and hopelessness that persist throughout their educational trajectories. Additionally, the authors find that academic motivation and persistence do not always equate with emotional resilience. The authors propose strategies to help facilitate emotional well-being for undocumented students.
Psychosocial Stressors and Coping Strategies in Racially and Ethnically Diverse Undocumented College Students Residing in Massachusetts, USA
In this study we use semi-structured interviews to examine day-to-day stressors and coping resources as experienced by 21 racially and/or ethnically minoritized, undocumented college students residing in two major cities in Massachusetts (USA). The findings reveal the presence of financial stressors, fears of deportation, and blocked opportunities as day-to-day stressors, as well as peer and informational supports as coping resources for minoritized undocumented students. We use a legal violence framework and stress process theory to analyze the stress and coping experiences of undocumented college students. We find that for minoritized undocumented students fear of deportation and stigma hindered their ability to identify and capitalize on needed institutional and peer support. We further argue that not recognizing the structural and symbolic ways that immigration laws serve as legitimizing sources for afflicting social, psychological, material harm places students with liminal legal status at risk for poor mental health. We conclude by offering theoretical and practice implications to help improve the ability of higher institutional agents’ meet the needs of undocumented college students.