What helps immigrants deal with deportation proceedings?

Anyone who has been to court knows just how nerve-racking it can be. Now imagine representing yourself in court in a foreign country because you cannot afford a lawyer. For many, this is not a hypothetical situation.

Many immigrants come to the U.S. in search of a better life after fleeing persecution, government corruption, famine, or community violence in their country of origin. In addition to the ongoing stresses related to immigration, nearly half of a million immigrants face removal proceedings each year. With no constitutional right to government-funded representation in immigration court, most immigrants must rely on pro bono organizations to provide counsel. Yet even those who have lawyers rarely obtain relief from deportation. Obtaining a lawyer is further complicated by immigration policies that detain those awaiting trial; often they are separated from family members, making it difficult to coordinate and search for help. Whether detained or in the community, immigrants awaiting their trial may experience a decline in well-being due to fear of deportation.

To identify risk and protective markers for well-being in immigrants in removal proceedings, researchers Cassandra A. Bailey, Amanda Venta, Jorge Varela, Temilola Salami, Chelsea Ratcliff, and Jeffrey Gardner interviewed 157 adult Latinx immigrants. They sought to better understand how hopelessness (i.e., reduced belief in the probability of attaining one’s goal and the decreased expectation of achievement and success), poor self-efficacy (i.e., a feeling of lack of control, reduced confidence in one’s abilities, decreased perceived ability to make decisions, and a sense of helplessness), and social, religious, and legal support affected their mental and physical well-being.

In their article published in Law and Human Behavioropens in new window, Bailey and colleagues describe the negative associations of hopelessness and poor self-efficacy with mental health. They identified social support (i.e., perceived support from family and friends) as positively related to mental health; familial support, specifically, was the driving factor. They did not find a protective relation between religious support (i.e., perceived support from God, religious leaders, and other participants) or legal support (i.e., education regarding removal proceedings, help filling out and filing required documents for court, and legal representation) and mental health; in some cases, religious and legal support were negatively associated with mental health. No variables were significantly related to physical health.

Bailey and colleagues’ identification of familial support as protecting against poor mental health for immigrants facing removal proceedings bolsters calls to end family separation and detention of individuals awaiting their hearings. More research is needed on immigrant populations and the proximal effect that removal proceedings may have on U.S. citizens with undocumented friends and family.

Note: This article is in the Forensic Psychology topic area. View more articles in the Forensic Psychology topic area.

Bailey, C. A., Venta, A., Varela, J., Salami, T., Ratcliff, C., & Gardner, J. (2021). Risk and protective markers for well-being in Latinx immigrants in removal proceedings. Law and Human Behavior, 45(3), 179-196. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000447opens in new window

Cassandra Bailey, PhD, recently graduated from Sam Houston State University and is now the 2021–22 Postdoctoral Fellow in forensic psychology at Denver FIRST. Her current research interests are immigration, diversity issues, and forensic assessment, with a particular focus on the impact of immigration regulations and proceedings on the mental health of Latinx immigrants.

Amanda Venta, PhD, is an associate professor of psychology at the University of Houston. Her research focuses on interpersonal risk and protective factors for psychopathology.

Jorge G. Varela, PhD, is a professor of psychology at Sam Houston State University and the director of clinical training for the doctoral program in clinical psychology in the Department of Psychology and Philosophy. His research centers on risk assessment, forensic assessment, and multicultural considerations in psychology and law.

Temilola Salami, PhD, recently joined the faculty at Prairie View A&M as an associate professor. She is also the director of the Health and Resilience Initiative for Vulnerable and Excluded Groups (weTHRIVE) lab. Her main clinical and research interests focus on the psychological sequela of trauma and discrimination.

Chelsea Ratcliff, PhD, is an assistant professor of psychology at Sam Houston State University who studies the impact of stress on physical and emotional health.

Jeffrey Gardner, PhD, is an assistant professor of sociology at Sam Houston State University. He researches race and ethnicity, social movements, and political sociology. His research centers on border politics in Latin America, with a focus on indigenous peoples divided by state borders.