Anti-immigration policies of the trump administration: A review of Latinx mental health and resilience in the face of structural violence

Abstract

Poor mental health outcomes are a growing concern among Latinx children and adults in the U.S. While existing research has documented risk factors to these mental health disparities, such as barriers to healthcare access and fear of deportation, less is known about the impacts of Former President Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric and federal efforts to curb migration on Latinx mental health. Thus, the purpose of this review was two-fold: (1) to review the empirical literature for any quantitative or qualitative findings discussing the relationship between federal immigration policies passed under the Trump administration and mental health outcomes of the Latinx community and (2) to understand the range of resilience factors that may have facilitated Latinx youth and adults to overcome these sociopolitical changes. Utilizing a modified version of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses guidelines, we conducted a narrative review of 21 empirical articles. The review characterizes literature across the fields of psychology, counseling, social justice, and law in terms of population of interest, relevant immigration policy, key mental health findings, and culturally sensitive contributions to either the Minority Stress Model or Social Ecological Resilience. Based on our findings, we argue that immigration enforcement served as a unique stressor to Latinx wellbeing and particularly increased rates of negative emotional experiences and internalizing symptoms. However, culturally rooted resilience factors, such as Luchando Adelante (e.g., striving forward despite uncertainty), helped bolster against relevant adversity. We conclude with an argument for the importance of immigration policy reform for improved mental health outcomes in the Latinx community.