Fear of raids affects the mental health of Latinos

With the increase in raids and arrests carried out by ICE agents, there has been a rise in mental health problems among Latinos, primarily due to the uncertainty and fear of being detained or separated from their families.

Sophia Rerucha, a student at San Francisco State University (SFSU) and a reporter for Radio Bilingüe, prepared this report.

Currently, there is a high level of fear within the Latino community that immigration raids will occur in normally safe places, such as schools, stores, workplaces, and even on the streets.

According to Patricia Rojas Zambrano, a psychotherapist and professor at the University of San Francisco, immigration is a normal and fundamental human act, but lately, it has become so politicized that it has a profound impact on those who experience it.

“It becomes controversial when we assign value and judgment to migration, to the movement of human beings. This imbues the experience of migration with meanings and significance that impact our being, our identity.”

Professor Zambrano also works as a mental health specialist for the refugee and immigrant community in the San Francisco Bay Area. She explains why this fear is so strong, especially among children of immigrant families.

“Children are very afraid of being separated from their parents. This isn’t new; we know that in the past, children born here to undocumented parents have experienced constant fear. But now, this fear is much more prevalent and intense.”

According to the Pew Research Center, 52% of immigrants arriving in the United States come from Latin American countries. And for Professor Zambrano, in this second term of President Donald Trump, it is precisely Latinos who fear so much for their safety despite their significant contributions to American society.

“In the media, in the government itself, as well as in its policies, there is a great deal of rejection of migrants, especially migrants of Latin American origin, who are being made to feel like outsiders and as people who have to fear for their safety, even though they are working honestly and contributing to the progress and well-being of this society. They are being made to feel like criminals, they are being persecuted, and they are being attacked very, very strongly. So, obviously, that also impacts your sense of security.”

Zambrano points out that it is easy to feel overwhelmed by all the news that is heard every day from this new administration.

“People are afraid, anxious, and there’s also a kind of exhaustion with news and things that keep us in a state of alert, which, for some, can be traumatic, and for others, it numbs us: ‘I can’t listen to this anymore, I don’t want to see this anymore, I’d better turn off the news, I’d better disconnect.’ It’s a way of avoiding reality, although that doesn’t mean it affects us any less, but that numbness, and silence, also leads to people who are very afraid to express themselves, to demonstrate in favor of migrants, to make themselves visible, so if they can blend in with the dominant narrative, they do.”

The professor also tells us that connection with community and family are some of the most important things for maintaining mental health.

“One thing fear does is break down the social fabric. Then we start to fear our neighbor, our friend, our cousin. We begin to isolate ourselves, to disconnect from the things that bring us happiness, joy, pleasure, peace, and happiness. Yes, there are things, family activities we can do with friends to celebrate our identity, our culture, our language, our food. We must continue doing so. These are ways that protect us.”

Professor Zambrano was one of the main organizers of the XV International Congress on Migration and Mental Health, organized by the University of San Francisco. The congress highlighted important topics for understanding the impact of immigration on mental health and how it can be addressed.

“In that connection and in that relationship we have with one another, we don’t allow dehumanization, and we don’t dehumanize other people, right? Other migrants, other people of other races, other ethnicities, other cultural groups, but on the contrary, we are examples of solidarity and connection through those friendships and interpersonal relationships.”

Many thanks to Sophia Rerucha, reporter for Radio Bilingüe and student at San Francisco State University, for this report.