In the United States, aggressive immigration enforcement tactics such as detention, deportation, and workplace raids have profound and far-reaching mental health consequences for children residing in mixed-status households. These families, characterized by a combination of U.S. citizens and undocumented immigrants living together, face unprecedented levels of trauma as a direct result of immigration policy and enforcement strategies. A groundbreaking report published by mental health experts at the University of California, Riverside’s School of Medicine, highlights the severity of this crisis, framing immigration enforcement not merely as a legal or political issue but as a public health emergency with lasting developmental and psychological repercussions for millions of children.
The report, appearing in the prestigious journal Psychiatric News, draws attention to the complex ways in which immigration policies interlace with psychiatric outcomes, emphasizing how the chronic fear induced by enforcement actions precipitates structural and intergenerational trauma. The authors argue that psychiatry, as a field deeply intertwined with social realities, must engage more actively and critically with these systemic issues to properly address the mental health needs arising from such pervasive societal challenges.
Children born in the United States but living in households where one or more caregivers lack legal status experience an omnipresent state of anxiety related to potential family separation. This anxiety permeates all spheres of their lives—from educational attainment to social interactions—and manifests both before and after possible separation events. The report underlines the critical importance of early emotional development and how pre-migration and post-migration separations disrupt attachment patterns fundamental to psychological health. Moreover, caregivers, particularly mothers, are often grappling with their own trauma, which compromises their capacity to provide emotional support, thereby creating a compounding cycle of mental health difficulties within these families.
A cornerstone of the study is its insistence that ongoing national debates over immigration policy frequently neglect the human toll exacted on the youngest and most vulnerable members of society. By foregrounding clinical evidence and community data, the report calls on media, policymakers, and mental health practitioners to reorient the conversation toward protecting the emotional wellbeing of children caught in the crosshairs of enforcement-driven immigration systems.
Dr. Lisa Fortuna, professor and chair of psychiatry and neuroscience at the UCR School of Medicine and primary author of the report, asserts that the threat or reality of separation from a caregiver can fundamentally alter a child’s developmental trajectory. Chronic fear disrupts secure attachments and instigates what is known clinically as complex trauma. This traumatic stress, when unmitigated, can have cascading effects on emotional regulation, cognitive processing, and brain architecture during critical periods of childhood growth.
The report integrates clinical case studies that illuminate the lived experiences of these children, capturing the profound emotional distress that manifests as avoidance, withdrawal, or aggression. One composite clinical narrative, referred to as “Ana,” typifies the intense and pervasive anxiety that can immobilize children—not only fearing deportation but also mistrusting environments, such as schools or therapeutic settings, that should provide safety and stability. The report discusses how safety planning, a common therapeutic intervention, paradoxically both helps and reminds families of their unstable living conditions.
Caregivers themselves endure significant psychological burdens. The pervasive fear of losing children to deportation or foster care fuels heightened levels of stress, anxiety, and depression. Within the home, these emotional pressures exacerbate tension, leading to a contagion of trauma that undermines familial relationships and resilience. Notably, parental mental health is inextricably linked to child wellbeing; caregivers struggling with trauma are less able to provide the consistent emotional support critical to healthy childhood development.
The researchers also observe that children do not omit political turmoil from their consciousness. Incidents of bullying and racialized intimidation targeting immigrant or Latino children heighten existential fears and social alienation. For example, some children have reported harassment by peers wielding politically charged symbols, such as MAGA hats, coupled with threats to report families to immigration authorities, fostering an environment of hostility and fear that substantially impairs social and academic functioning.
Developmentally, the impact of immigration enforcement trauma varies by age but remains significant throughout childhood and adolescence. In infants and toddlers, disrupted attachment can lead to somatic issues like disturbed sleep and feeding behaviors, foreshadowing longer-term emotional difficulties. Older children, who possess greater cognitive awareness, exhibit symptoms of anxiety and fear, often struggling to verbalize their distress. Adolescents frequently shoulder adult-like responsibilities prematurely, a phenomenon known as “parentification,” which encompasses caregiving duties and managing household logistics due to fears of parental absence.
The intersection of immigration and mental health policy emerges as a focal point of concern in the report. Current enforcement practices foster systemic trauma that fulfills diagnostic criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other anxiety disorders in children—even among those not directly targeted—highlighting the widespread nature of harm. The authors advocate for recognition of policy as a determinant of public health and encourage mental health professionals to adopt advocacy roles that extend beyond conventional clinical boundaries.
If these mental health consequences remain unaddressed, the report warns of grave, long-term implications. Traumatized children risk lifelong psychiatric illnesses, diminished academic achievement, and impaired social integration. The perpetuation of trauma across generations reinforces cycles of disadvantage and psychosocial harm, shaping public health outcomes on a societal scale. The erosion of nurturing, stable environments directly limits children’s emotional, cognitive, and social potentials, obstructing healthy adult functioning and community wellbeing.
Amid these stark realities, the authors also convey a message of hope rooted in the resilience of immigrant communities and the enduring strength found in social support networks. Mental health professionals, they argue, have a critical role in bolstering these informal systems by providing culturally competent care and partnering with community resources. Even minor, strategic interventions can catalyze significant, positive changes in the lives of vulnerable children, altering developmental trajectories toward healing and stability.
This report represents a pivotal contribution to understanding the biopsychosocial consequences of immigration enforcement, urging a transformative approach that integrates psychiatry with social justice and policy reform. By confronting the realities of chronic fear and instability faced by millions of immigrant children, it calls for a comprehensive public health framework that centers emotional wellbeing as a fundamental right and national priority.
Subject of Research: People
Article Title: Special Report: U.S. Immigration Policy and the Mental Health of Children and Families
News Publication Date: 25-Jul-2025
Web References:
DOI: 10.1176/appi.pn.2025.08.8.19
Keywords: Immigration enforcement, mental health, childhood trauma, mixed-status families, family separation, PTSD, intergenerational trauma, structural trauma, public health, child development, immigration policy, psychiatric advocacy
