Undocumented Family

Case Summary: The Hernandez Family: Immigration problems Identified Clients: Maria Hernandez, female, 37-years old, Mexican and Jose Hernandez, male, 33-years old, Mexican Presenting problem: Navigating immigration and the legal system while handling the stress of possible deportation. Intake: Jose states he is concerned about being on probation with immigration. He has until 2019 to become a citizen or be deported.

The validity of the perception that “the United States is a country made of immigrants” has been historically challenged by the government and those in power. In his book, Latino Americans: The 500-Year Legacy that Shaped a Nation, Ray Suarez provides a deep understanding of how the contributions and struggles by the Latinos in the past has shaped the present of this nation. To many “Americans,” Latinos are just new immigrants coming from their land in search of a better future. For those Latinos, however, leaving their countries, cultures, families and communities comprise the most significant sacrifice of their lives. As many other Latinos, my family migrated to the United States with the hope of a better future.

The distance, separation from one another, and difficulties caused by growing up at a young age without parents causes depression in children. Children are supposed to grow up with their parents and spend time together as a family, children look up to their parents or caregiver most of their childhood lives, having love, validation, and security. Children who grow up separated from their parents tend to react in a depressive way since they adapt to not being with their family. In many cases, families who migrate to El Otro Lado known as the United States are separated or lose the connection between each other that they once all had as a family. Reyna Grande was an example of a child separated from her parents when they migrated without her.

This can have devastating impacts including the deterioration of mental health as well as the loss of housing, income and position in society, employment and cultural norms. Theses immigration detention centres are often

Illegal immigrants are a major part of the US labor force and have been an important source of low-skilled labor supply to the US economy for many decades. The Pew Hispanic Center estimates that the number of unauthorized immigrants in the US labor force was 8.3 million in 2008, up from 6.3 million in 2003 but down slightly from the 2007 peak of 8.5 million. And there are currently 11.9 million unauthorized immigrants living in the United States, with an average of 500,000 new entrants arriving annually over the last decade. (Passel and Cohn, A Portrait of Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States, 2009).

They have the problem of getting forced to break the law which will get you deported. They will have the problem of being very limited to job opportunities they will have and the risk of driving

The life of an immigrant can be a difficult task to ask from anyone: work, eat, sleep repeat without the support of their loved ones. Many of us will never know the hardships involved in leaving your family behind in hopes of a better future. Most immigrants in our great nation are not here to steal from us or cause us any harm, but rather to work and provide for their families what they cannot provide on their home country. Immigrants often times get abused, belittled, and taken advantage of due to the fact that they are illegal. A lot of people think they are here to take our jobs and often times complain about taxes and other things that they do not do.

One of the toughest adjustments, having been born to Mexican parents, is migrating to an unknown country where traditions and languages differ from one 's own. Though many pursue an education and strive for a better life, the purpose behind an immigrant, like myself, differs from the typical American. Immigrants strive for a life that was once impossible, going to school is not only to attain an education, but to better prove that we can also become successful regardless of our traditions and skin color. I lived in a country for over fifteen years, fearing deportation, not only losing a home, but potentially saying goodbye to a bright future. Although many feel empathy for Mexican-Americans, it is undeniably difficult to truly comprehend the immense trauma children and even adults undergo  upon experiencing racism and prejudice.

Often migrants from different cultural backgrounds fear that bringing their child in for treatment may trigger social discrimination or hold the belief that some mental health services are linked to immigration services, and thus refuse to cooperate (Nadeau & Measham 2006). In the article written by Karen Zwi, she illustrates that if children are supported and protected from further stress they are more likely to recover both mentally and physically. However, in order for children to reach a state of wellbeing, it is imperative that health professionals, including

The traumatic effects caused by immigration Did you know that 29% of foreign-born children and 34% foreign born parents experienced trauma during the immigration process? Thousands of people from all over the world leave their homes in search of a better life for themselves and their families. But, along the way they may experience traumatic events related to the immigration process which can have lasting effects. Separation or loss of a family member, leaving behind a well loved home and community, re-adjusting to new and different culture, food, customs and lifestyle are things many immigrants face, which add to the difficulty of being an immigrant. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder One traumatic effect that is often caused by immigration is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (P.T.S.D).

Undocumneted parents have a hard time deciding whether to make their children orphans or exiles. The massive deportations in the United States have left lots of American children orphans. Zayas highlights that “in the worst of all possible cases, parental deportation may cause the child to fall into the child welfare system” (Zayas 189). Consequently, immigration policy harms the rights of the children by separating them from their parents and being placed in a system they do not belong. According to the Child Welfare Information Gateway the “Child welfare system typically receive and investigate reports of possible child abuse and neglect; provide services to families that need assistance in the protection and care of their children; arrange for children to live with kin or with foster families when they are not safe at home; and arrange for reunification, adoption, or other permanent family connections for children leaving foster care”

significant number of children from the refugee families and immigrant are at higher risk as compared to other children for undiagnosed mental health disorders, the absence of social integration, social segregation, absences of confidence, and depression. These children have a minimal accessibility to mental health care and frequently emerge from cultures where receiving assistance for problems related to mental health conveys stigma. The immigrants around the world continue to increase. For instance, according to the census of 2000 in the United States, it was noted that 1 of every 5 children in the country is a child of an immigrant (George, 2003). Children from immigrant families face poverty, where the poverty rates in these families are higher are compared to the native-born families.

Additionally, undocumented immigrants often fear the risk of deportation if they seek assistance from public

New cultural environments reflecting new and inconsistent values and practices from their traditional ways in their country of origin will result in different acculturation rates in parents compared to children (Renazaho & Vignjevic, 2011). Due to the lack of cultural competence parents can also run into issues within the system. If it is customary to hit their children when they have done something wrong, they may not understand that that is unacceptable in the United States. If someone were to witness this event they may report it and child protective services could get involved. Many refugee families come into contact with child protection systems before they have the chance to learn new parenting styles (Lewig, Arney, & Salveron,

Migrant and refugee families face many issues when relocating to a new country. Migrant families often relocate voluntarily, however, refugee families often have no choice. Both these groups have specific health needs to be addressed in order to build a new and healthy life. Some of the issues experienced by these families are social exclusion, the loss of family and community networks, cultural differences, education gaps, financial stress, and language barriers. Many refugees are detained in detention centres, and exposed to adverse conditions, resulting in psychological issues which health care providers are often ill equipped to handle.