Based on the growing literature on the link between government policy and mental health, this article proposes a socio-ecological model to understand the way immigration policy and law enforcement specifically have become a key determinant of mental health among undocumented immigrants and their families. Based on the latest research on the subject, the article organizes and defines the spiral that goes from the main features of governmental immigration policy and law enforcement to the stressors they generate among the migrant community and mental health outcomes among different groups within it. It also considers the coping mechanisms migrants adopt to deal with their legal vulnerability, classifying them into those which worsen mental health outcomes and some which, paradoxically, make migrant communities resilient.
Read the full article in Current Opinion in Psychology (subscription required).
