This case shows the precarious and fearful existence that Mexican immigrants live today due to Donald Trump’s strict deportation policy. This vulnerable group is likely to experience mental health issues due to the looming threat of millions of undocumented migrants being arrested and sent to Mexico.

Going through the deportation procedure is a stressful and uncertain experience. It involves judicial proceedings, hearings, paying for and finding a lawyer and being transported from detention center to detention centre until you are finally expelled.

Studies have shown that detention and interception activities can negatively impact the mental health of refugees who fled conflicts in the Middle East.

A group of newly deported immigrants stand near the double-steel fence that separates San Diego from Tijuana. Jorge Duenes/Reuters

Deportees are impacted by past stress. The fear of deportation and discrimination are daily stressors for American Latinos, according to research. Another source of anxiety is the possibility of being separated from loved ones (this fear was documented in an episode on US radio This American Life).

There are also the criminal network, to which unauthorised immigrants are especially vulnerable when they are entering (or leaving) the country.

The hopelessness that results from the frustration and desperation of seeing the dream of a new start in a host country vanish and the lack opportunities in the migrants’ country of origin can be fatal, as was seen in Tijuana in last month. public officials have warned they are ready for more cases like this.

Seeking a Better Life

Migrants, legal or not, are a vulnerable population around the world. Migration patterns are heavily influenced by the social, political, and economic factors of migrants’ origin region.

Crime, poverty, and lack of jobs are “push factors” for refugees from Central America or Mexico. The majority of Mexican migrants are between the ages of 20-24, but there are also young women who are fleeing violence in their surroundings.

Rex Tillerson defends Trump’s travel ban. Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Refugees tend to choose countries where they feel positive (or negative) associations about the local culture and values. According to Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography, work, family and studies are the primary reasons for people to migrate to the US. The US is the host country of 86% of Mexican migrants.

Most Mexican migrants go to the US to better their life and work conditions. Those who take the risk of the journey, however, are young men and women on the verge of their most productive phase in life.

The legal status of the immigrant will determine how risky and precarious their life is in the US. At some point, nearly all American immigrants will face a number of stressors that can affect their mental health.

Before deportation is even threatened, migrants are already vulnerable. Jorge Luis Plata/Reuters

The stress of territorial displacement is a factor in itself. It is particularly difficult to make the transition if there is uncertainty in the journey and the migrant does not have a support system in their host country. Other obstacles include language difficulties, cultural differences and limited formal education. They can also cause migrants to worry and their children every day.

The terror of uncertainty

The most marginalized are at risk of experiencing a variety of mental and emotional disorders.

In the US, minorities have reported “acculturated stress as well as dissatisfaction with their housing or neighborhood. Both phenomena are associated with anxiety, fatigue, and depressive symptoms.

Stress and isolation can also lead to problematic alcohol and drug use, which can worsen existing mental imbalances.

A message to Donald Trump. Jonathan Earnst/Reuters

Experts have coined the term ” Ulysses Syndrome“, which refers to a range of psychological problems that migrants face, including high stress levels, feelings of failure and loneliness, social exclusion, and fear of deportation. Chronic fatigue, headaches, and colitis are all physical symptoms.

It is likely that the suicide of a young deportee in Tijuana would have been prevented if he had received appropriate psychological treatment. The precarious life of unauthorized migrants makes mental health treatment and services a luxury they can’t afford (just as it is for a lot of poor American citizens).

The US federal courts have blocked both of the Trump administration’s Muslim travel bans. His executive order ramping up deportation of Mexicans is already in effect – and they are creating a trauma for Latino immigrants.