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Immigration Enforcement and the Mental Health of Latinx Students

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September 01, 2025

September usually marks a return to routine for families with school-aged children, as alarms, bus routes, carpools, lunch packing, homework, and bedtime schedules resume, signaling the end of relaxed summer days. While this time often also involves preparing for Latino Heritage Month celebrations, this year's observance is uncertain given the present political climate. Current United States (U.S.) immigration policy is directly contributing to a mental health crisis among children and families in both immigrant and mixed-status households, with school districts on the front lines of responding to the trauma and educational ramifications these policies create.1

A recent report led by Dr. Lisa Fortuna, chair of psychiatry and neuroscience at the University of California Riverside (UCR), highlights aggressive immigration enforcement – including detention, deportation, and workplace raids – as major sources of chronic emotional distress for millions of children. Children living in mixed-status families often face constant anxiety over the potential detention or deportation of parents, which manifests in deteriorating emotional health, academic performance issues, and challenging behavioral presentations at school.2

The threat or reality of separation from caregivers fundamentally reshapes a child's development, contributing to symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These impacts can be especially severe when children are unable to express their fears or access specialized support systems, leading to higher rates of suicidal ideation, substance use, and externalizing behaviors.3

Children experiencing trauma due to immigration enforcement often struggle in school environments. Teachers may observe attention difficulties, withdrawal, poor academic performance, and increased behavioral challenges. The inability to concentrate, persistent absenteeism, and fear of leaving their parent’s side disrupt learning and social participation.4 Immigrant caregivers, particularly mothers, frequently report severe anxiety, hopelessness, and depression, limiting their ability to provide emotional support and stability to their children. The trauma experienced by caregivers transfers directly to children, compounding intergenerational cycles of distress and affecting the family’s overall resilience.5

Immigration policy-driven trauma is not experienced in isolation – it is intensified by poverty, discrimination, social exclusion, and barriers to accessing healthcare or legal protection. Such "structural trauma" is transmitted across generations, shaping the long-term mental health landscape of entire school communities. The cumulative effects mean today’s brief policy changes can spark ripple effects for decades, undermining social cohesion and public health.6

Many immigrant children also face compounding trauma from pre-migration experiences, including violence and loss, combined with the post-migration realities of living in fear and uncertainty. Prolonged legal limbo, rapid or unexpected deportations, and forced family separations drive chronic stress and emotional instability.7

Since early 2025, U.S. policy has seen the suspension of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), stricter asylum and expedited removal procedures, and the reinstatement of the "Remain in Mexico" rule. The more recent raids at schools, workplaces, churches – normally thought of as safe spaces – the unpredictability, randomness, arbitrary enforcement by masked, unidentified people – causes what can feel like insurmountable stress. These challenges further marginalize children and families, making access to mental health care and educational stability more challenging.8

Children subjected to detention or separation from caregivers report overwhelmingly negative mental health outcomes. Higher rates of PTSD, depression, anxiety, and social withdrawal have been found, with effects lingering long after reunification.9

Given the gravity of these findings, schools must respond with evidence-based, trauma-informed approaches to support children affected by immigration policy.10

Schools can help by:

  • Creating safe, supportive environments that prioritize emotional and physical safety in all school activities.
  • Training all staff to recognize trauma responses versus traditional misbehavior, enabling sensitive intervention.
  • Building relationships with students and families impacted by immigration enforcement to foster trust and reduce isolation.
  • Implementing systematic mental health screenings, alongside routine educational assessments, to identify students at risk for trauma-related distress and disability.
  • Employing bicultural/bilingual school counselors, psychologists, and social workers with expertise in trauma, immigrant communities, and culturally responsive care.
  • Providing psychoeducation interventions and support groups to help families and children process community-wide trauma, like strategies following large-scale disasters.11

The special report also highlights emerging care models that offer more ethical, culturally appropriate responses than traditional psychiatric interventions. Multilevel, integrated strategies are critical to restoring wellness, strengthening families, and advancing justice for immigrant children and adolescents. Community-based mental health programs, integrated school services, and strengths-based approaches are proving effective. Providing in-school psychoeducation and family consultation services can help process trauma collectively. Community outreach efforts reduce stigma and facilitate earlier intervention. Multidisciplinary teams can deliver wraparound supports for students facing complex emotional and academic needs. Healing also involves reclaiming safety, voice, and belonging in environments that may feel unpredictable or hostile. Therapies that use storytelling, art, music, and movement – especially those grounded in the child’s cultural and spiritual heritage – offer powerful tools for restoring voice and meaning.13

Schools must recognize the profound ways immigration policy is shaping the mental health and educational trajectories of children and families. “The mental health of immigrant children is inseparable from the conditions in which they live, grow, and imagine their futures.”14 By adopting trauma-informed, culturally responsive strategies, collaborating with community partners, and advocating for policy reforms, schools can help mitigate the effects of structural and intergenerational trauma and promote the resilience and success of all students.

References:

  1. Child Mental Health Crisis Tied to Immigration Enforcement
  2. Special Report: U.S. Immigration Policy and the Mental Health of Children and Families
  3. The Silent Trauma: U.S. Immigration Policies and Mental Health
  4. Immigration Policy and Latinx/é Children from Mixed-Status Families: Mental Health Consequences and Recommendations for Mental Health Providers

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