In the United States, Mexican immigration has continued virtually uninterrupted for over 160 years. There is no doubt that Mexican migration across US borders is the most significant social phenomena of our time, representing the single largest population movement in history. Most often, the decision to migrate may be taken by the husband alone, without consulting his wife.
Yet women also migrate to the United States against the wishes of their husbands and parents, representing nearly half the Mexican immigrant population. Undocumented Mexican immigrants bring with them migration stresses, continuous adaptation, family structural shifting, and the effects of multilevel discrimination affecting the family’s well being. This paper addresses the current and historical relationship between the United States government and the Mexican federal government, as regards the vast immigration of people crossing over the US-Mexican borders.
It further explores the needs of Mexican immigrants, their reasons for leaving their homes and families in lieu of a better life, and whether international boundaries that prevent migration can be justified from an ethical standpoint, or whether human rights are being violated, including the emotional and psychological impact migration has on splintered families migrating to the U. S. and how counseling can benefit them.
Introduction
A young man from Mexico was meeting with his immigration attorney. In order to properly assess how to handle his case, the attorney asked him how he had come to the United States. Did he come with a border crossing card, or a student or tourist visa? Perhaps he had come with his parents when he was a child. How had he crossed the border? The young man looked at her and answered matter-of-factly, ‘Corriendo. ” Running.
Migrations from Mexico to the Unites States have existed for 160 years. Immigrants “with unprecedented numbers of undocumented workers (illegal)—workers who serve the U. S. economy’s needs, but who are very badly served by this economy,” (Allard, 2009, pp. 1-82) receive a backlash reaction, as has occurred in this country “each time a new immigrant group reaches critical mass” (Frankel, 2006).
Unfortunately, undocumented illegal immigrants in the United States often elicit judgment and bias from the majority Caucasian culture. Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, …changes in United States border policy have led to the intensification and militarisation (sic) of border policing, which in turn has created a boundary that is substantially more difficult and dangerous for undocumented immigrants to cross. As a result, the numbers of migrant deaths have increased. Scarpellino, p. 331)
The United States Border Patrol has increased its defense of border crossings by either denying or refusing Mexican immigrants any right to illegally cross over the U. S. border, or by various means of discrimination, torture, or abuse to these illegal migrants. “For those entering the country illegally, border crossings are dangerous, especially for women who may be robbed or sexually assaulted in the process” (Hancock, 2005, p. 691).
In areas other than hard boundary crossings, border patrols or local vigilante groups protect the U. S. border without much supervision. Still, poor Mexican immigrants desire to move to the U. S. to escape the poverty, unemployment, and low wage positions prevalent in their home country, in order to create a more satisfying life in the U. S. But migration creates a number of risks. According to King (2007), “An obvious risk is the increasing probability of death associated with illegal border crossing being forced into the desert by changing the U. S. immigration enforcement policies” (p. 900).
Most often though, Mexican immigrants “are young, speak little English, and have little formal education” (Hancock, p. 90), and are seen by U. S. and vigilante groups as ‘terrorists. ’ The purpose of this paper is to explore the needs of Mexican immigrants, their reasons for leaving their homes and families in Mexico in lieu of a better life, and whether international boundaries that prevent migration can be justified from an ethical standpoint or whether human rights are being violated, including the physical and psychological impact migration has on splintered families migrating to the U. S. and how counseling might benefit them.
Historical Perspective of Mexican Migration to the U.S
“The issue of immigration touches the Mexican-origin population more than any other ethnic group in the United States. Mexican immigration has continued virtually uninterrupted for the past 160 years” (Jimenez, 2007, p. 599). Since 1848 migrants from Mexico have sought to cross over to the United States. From the time of the Treaties of Guadalupe-Hidalgo (1848) and La Mesilla (1853) Mexico lost nearly half of its territories. (Cano and Delano, 2007, p. 697) Since the 1850s, Mexicans in the U. S. organized through various associations to defend their rights and enhance their cultural values.
At the turn of the 20th Century, Mexican migration was welcomed in the United States due to labor shortages and economic expansion. Mexican workers however, had little protection for their labor in the U. S. The 1910 Mexican Revolution accelerated Mexican migration, as political refugees and whole families scampered into the U. S. , attempting to fill the demands. And with not much to offer its citizens during the Revolution except for unfulfilled promises, approximately 500,000 workers emigrated from Mexico to work in the U. S. within a two-decade period.
By the 1960’s the Chicano Movement took root in the U. S. , following the path of the Civil Rights Movement. “The rhetoric of Chicano militants on both immigration and ethnic politics contributed to their growing awareness of the close relationships that bound Mexican immigrants to American citizens of Mexican descent” (Cano and Delano, p. 707).
As a consequence of the economic pressures in Mexico, and the increase of “undocumented migrants through the IRCA (Immigration Reform and Control Act) in 1986, the Mexican population in the U. S…increased dramatically” during the last thirty years of the Twentieth Century, from 4. 5 million to 13. million people per decade. (Cano and Delano, p. 708) The Mexican government, between 1990 and 2005, “promoted its image in the U. S. in order to strengthen economic and political ties between the countries… during the NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) negotiations, begun in 1991” (Cano and Delano, p. 712).
The Mexican government installed a new institutional framework for the management of migration issues in April 2003, by integrating Communidades (original italics) and OPME into a single office: the Institute of Mexicans Abroad (IME)” (Cano and Delano, p. 14). IME “is the first institution that brings together all the relevant groups (at the government and community levels, both in the US and Mexico) in order to discuss the problems and needs related to Mexicans abroad and propose solutions” (Cano and Delano, p. 715). This historical perspective of transnationalism and migration from Mexico to the U. S. , through over 160 years of economic, political, and human rights policies, has a firm and historical foundation of what works and what doesn’t for undocumented migrants that leave Mexico in search of a better life in the United States.
Tracking exactly how many unauthorized migrants currently reside in the United States is a daunting task, but recent reports…estimate that there are approximately 11. 9 million unauthorized immigrants living in the U. S. as of March 2008. “Immigration policy and border enforcement are the responsibility of the federal government in the United States. Therefore it is federal law that designates as ‘illegal’ those who enter the U. S. without authorization” (Varsanyi, p. 302).
Though, “as a practical matter, immigration is now largely a state-level concern”[4], “including undocumented immigration, (which) is also squarely a concern of cities and counties throughout the U. S” (Varsanyi, p. 302). “Migrants are now settling in communities throughout the nation-state…thus bringing the phenomenon of ‘illegal immigration’ to (local) communities” (Varsanyi, 2007, pp. 299-300). Because state, county, and city government officials do not recognize unauthorized residents as ‘illegals’, they do not attempt to round them up or deport them (unless there are legal reasons to). Therefore, “unauthorized migrants live in sub-national communities throughout the nation-state and are de facto (original italics) members of those local communities” (Varsanyi, p. 300).
Clinical Issues and Solutions Facing Undocumented Immigrants
Gemma Cruz reports, “Because global economic integration has increased the economic divide between rich and poor countries (the World Bank says more than 1. 2 billion people live on less than one dollar per day) more and more people see international migration as the only way out of poverty” (p. 63). Migrants may be the poorest of the poor, but survival instincts will kick in and impel “countless people to risk life and limb…(along with) the deleterious social and psychological effects of fatherless and motherless families. Undocumented immigrants face numerous hardships such as language barriers, an unfamiliar culture, changes in climate, and multiple losses of routine and social supports—all of which can contribute to stress levels” (Cruz, pp. 691-692). The amount of stress experienced could cause depression, anxiety, and a loss of control.
Some who experience trauma on the journey to the U. S. may suffer symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Undocumented immigrants also live with high levels of stress, “and an unremitting fear of deportation” (Cruz, p. 692). According to Foster (2001), “it is not migration alone but, rather, traumatic or derailing events before, during, or after dislocation that lead to psychological distress of clinical proportions” (p. 155). Foster’s four migration stages that have some significant potential for traumatic experiences are:
- premigration trauma, experiences prior to and during migration are directly associated with psychological
- traumatic events experienced during transit to the new country, trauma during the migratory process itself is linked to psychological distress, with risk and anxiety in an escape experience;
- continuing traumatogenic experiences during the process of asylum-seeking and resettlement, [residence in temporary resettlement areas can be a harrowing experience, with overcrowding, fear, and lack of provisions exacerbating the existing stressors of forced migration]; and
- substandard living conditions in the host country due to unemployment, inadequate supports, and minority persecution [coming to the U. S. hoping to find work and a new life in an adopted land only to find themselves confronting isolation and exploitative living conditions, leaves them at a significant risk]. (Pp. 155-156)
Yet people will continue to attempt migrating across the U. S. border from Mexico; and many are fleeing economic deprivation. This is especially true of undocumented immigrants that cross the US border every day.
Scarpellino also opines that hard boundaries restrain one’s freedom of movement, “yet migration may be the only way some people can satisfy their basic needs, if their state of origin fails to ensure that those needs can be met” (pp. 341-343). For undocumented immigrants who risk “crossing international boundaries, the happenstance of being born on one side of the boundary rather than the other has dictated for them that their life chances are limited and their opportunities restricted by conditions not of their own choosing” (p. 346). In a recent research study, it was reported: – 6 – The threat and fear of terrorism (by crossing U. S. borders illegally) jeopardizes mobility.
Combined with citizens’ growing negative perception of immigrants as people who take local jobs, drive wages down, and commit crimes, the passage of local or state legislation curtailing political, economic, and cultural opportunities for migrants continually strains the migrants’ hope for fulfillment in a world that appears to be shrinking around them. (Cruz, pp. 363-364) Most recently, studies of immigrant populations who have undergone trauma have shown a terrible picture of violence perpetrated on people by those in power—and the chaotic fallout that individuals and families go through when migration is accompanied by threats to one’s livelihood and safety.
According to Foster, “The lives of people who migrate to host countries and seek mental health services seem to follow broad…paths that are similar to combat, environmental, and sexual/physical trauma literature” (p. 157). Aspects of human development are conceptualized, especially with regard to socio-economically vulnerable populations. It is not surprising that migration’s stressors expose one to: Life threats, beatings, rape, murder, imprisonment, torture, and disappearance of family…only further exacerbated by the severe stress that can be induced in the new country through such conditions as potential repatriation, poverty, unemployment, loss of family, prejudice, and barriers to obtaining social and clinical services. Foster, p. 157)
Thousands of people cross the U. S. Mexico border illegally every year. “Despite the increased militarisation (sic) of the U. S. -Mexico boundary, the numbers of undocumented immigrants, those who ‘entered without inspection’ as the United States immigration service categorizes them, have increased” (Scarpellino, 2007, p. 330). Migration today continues to define humankind’s story, and has “become a source of economic salvation not just for migrants, their families, and the receiving countries but also for the sending countries. Money sent by migrants keeps the economy of their home countries afloat or steady” (Cruz, p. 361).
Scarpellino discerns that hard boundaries represent, A violation of human rights as government policies and institutions attempt to prevent people from seeking a better life in a country other than that in which they were born. (Furthermore, this author wonders if the results of hard boundaries depict) structural or institutional violence that violates the right of undocumented immigrants to life, liberty, and security, a right set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? ( p. 331)
Conclusively, Scarpellino answers: hard boundaries are not ethically justifiable. As clinical solutions go, it is imperative that counselors are able to deal with varied presenting problems of migration, including trauma, mood disorders, and other situations as deemed necessary and reported by undocumented immigrants seeking counseling. New competencies in counseling psychology need to cover culturally consistent services to minorities who seek to gain equal status, empouwerment, and personal growth in the mainstream of American life” (Sodowsky, Taffe, Gutkin, and Wise, 1994, p. 137).
In Sue, Bernier, Durran, Feinberg, Pederson, Smith, and Vasquez-Nuttal, the researchers found that “although general counseling skills such as active listening are necessary in all counsleing, they are not sufficient for multicutlural counseling” (Sodowsky, et al. , p. 138). Because the Latino population in the United States has grown at an exponential rate, Latinos are at high risk for such problems as mentioned above, yet, often these needs go unmet. “The best situation is for treatment to be provided by bilingual health care providers… (because) ilingual psychotherapists (regardless of ethnicity) are more culturally sensitive with Latino clients” (Willerton, Dankoski, and Sevilla Martir, 2008, p. 198).
However, Latinos face many barriers in accessing and receiving culturally appropriate, affordable, effective, high quality mental health care…. Ultimately, we must ensure that the diversity within the mental health workforce mirrors the diversity of the population being served” (Willerton, et al. , pp. 203-204). Undocumented immigrants will most likely have to face these barriers and, many may choose to seek guidance from religious or spiritual providers. Lack of health insurance for illegal immigrants is an unaffordable bridge which they must cross.
The acculturative experience of Hispanic or Latina/o immigrants is different from that of other cultures, (therefore) counselors must take these differences into consideration. Identifying accurate stress levels, unique language needs, the need for social support and skill building, use of a ‘loss and adaptation’ model, and familiarity with immigration law, are issues that warrant special consideration. (Smart and Smart, p. 393) The assessment of psychopathology in Hispanic subcultures… points to the disturbing frequency with which culturally diverse people are misdiagnosed when assessed using diagnostic interpretations by Anglo-Americans. (Foster, p. 60)
Ethnocentric bias in diagnostic criteria and clinical instruments is a pervasive problem in clinical practice, forcing counselors to be diligent in discernment. (Foster, p. 167). Recent undocumented immigrants bring a culture of fear in many major life areas. Multicultural bilingual counselors would be well suited for working with foreign migrants. Illegal immigrants also bring to the U. S. a loss of connectivity with both primary and extended families. The decision to migrate may most often be taken by a husband (and father) alone, without consulting his wife. Yet women frequently migrate to the United States also, either against the wishes of their husbands, parents, or family members.
Understood in the crudest way, traditional Mexican marriages might be seen as one in which women exchange sex, affection, childbearing and rearing, and housework for financial support for herself and the couple’s children. Migration, however, clearly significantly affects the marriage bargain in many ways. (King, pp. 898-904) “The public policy discourses surrounding unauthorized immigration across the U. S. -Mexico border tend to neglect attention to the mental and social health effects on families and communities” (McGuire and Martin, 2007, p. 178). Also, immigrants who were professionals in their home countries find they cannot reciprocate educational degrees or licenses in the U. S. (Chung, Bemak, Ortiz, & Sandocal-Perez, 2008, p. 12)
Therefore, “illegal or ‘undocumented’ immigrants do not have full access to jobs, education, and economic benefits, and live in constant fear of deportation” (Smart and Smart, 1995, p. 392). Immigrants’ in a new land, away from their country-of-origin, are affected through acculturation, orientation, and a number of other factors…“quite different from that which they have known” (Kosic, Krulglanski, Pierro, and Mannetti, 2004, pp. 708, 809-810). Acculturation is “a process whereby individuals learn about the – 10 – rules for behavior characteristics of a certain group of people” (Smart and Smart, p, 390), and beyond that is biculturalism. “Biculturalism occurs when immigrants successfully integrate various aspects of their own traditional culture with those of the host society.
Among immigrants…bicultural persons are regarded as being the healthiest psychologically” (Chung, et al. , p. 312). “What seems clear…is that the more an individual is able to maintain active and effective relationships through alternation between both cultures, the less difficulty he or she will have in acquiring and maintaining competency in both cultures” (LaFromboise, Coleman, and Gerton, 1993, p. 402). The entire US-Mexico border is where developed meets developing world. “As the border has been increasingly demarcated and fortified[6] informal/illegal crossings are made increasingly difficult” (Foster, p. 281).
Potential U. S. migrants desperate for a better life…have several thousand miles across which they can attempt a land entry. As a responsible party for the shift in such flows and border security generally, why does the federal government not provide sufficient financial resources for mitigating these situations” (Foster, p. 285)We simply must get past superficial level arguments on both sides as reflected in overused statements such as, ‘they broke the law by crossing over illegally and should be jailed and deported’ on the one hand, and on the other, ‘I’m not a criminal because I work, pay taxes, and help the United States. ’ (Organista, p. 190)
The Matriculas Consulares
The first local agency (in the United States) to accept consular ID cards was the Austin, Texas police department, whose officers had become alarmed at the number of undocumented residents of the city who were victims of robbery” (Varsanyi, p. 305). Because the migrants did not have IDs, and were unable to obtain state driver’s licenses or open new bank accounts, they were often robbed on the way home. It did not take long for local police in Austin to allow Mexican ID cards to be used for obtaining Texas driver’s licenses, which allowed unauthorized residents to deposit money to certain banks, agreed with by Austin police officers and bank officers. I
n many areas with high numbers of unauthorized migrants, there is a growing acceptance of consular ID cards. A valid form of identification for unauthorized residents, The matriculas consulares (literally ‘consular registrations’) are identification (ID) cards issued…to Mexican nationals since 1871. However), it has only been since post-9/11 that local police forces, businesses, and other city, county, and state agencies have started accepting them as a valid form of identification for unauthorized residents in their communities, who otherwise would not have any form of acceptable identification (and are thus “undocumented”). (Varsanyi, p. 300)
Because Mexican ID cards are being accepted, “governments have been formulating policies at the local scale which govern and manage…daily relationships with…unauthorized resident populations, despite the fact that these policies may contradict or be in tension with federal authority over immigration and citizenship policy” (Varsanyi, p. 303).
Personal Clinical Competencies for Undocumented Immigrants
Clinical competencies begin with assessing a situation, a presenting client, or a client and his or her family members. If the lient only speaks Spanish, then this learner would need to hire a bilingual or Spanish speaking translator in order to begin the process of communication. Clearly, communication includes body language, facial expressions, eye contact, and sense of safety or trust.
If this learner were capable of hiring a translator or a bilingual counselor who speaks Spanish, this learner would most probably refer the client to the counselor that speaks Spanish. If no referral takes place, then this learner would begin with introducing the translator, and then attempt to identify how the undocumented immigrant landed in this learner’s hometown. This leaner would then complete a written assessment and a genogram to begin deciphering what this person’s life was like before immigrating.
This learner would also want to know what the journey was like for him or her; was it safe? Was it traumatic? Lonesome, etc.? After the assessment and discussion this learner would delve more into multicultural investigation as to how best to treat a Mexican undocumented immigrant. This learner would also support the immigrant to take his or her matriculas consulares to obtain a Texas Driver’s License and then open a bank account. This social aspect of counseling is primarily intended to get the client to be more secured in his or her community, and secondarily to put more trust in this learner as counselor. Latinos/as have a great respect for counselors, as much as for physicians, judges, or attorneys.
This learner would also use an approach that works with Latinos/as, called the levels of intervention:
- Mental Health education;
- Individual, group, and family counseling;
- Cultural empowerment;
- Integration of traditional and Western healing practices;
- Addressing social justice and human rights policies.
The work of the counselor must be done in harmony with and as a reflection of the society in which it is embedded. Willerton, et al. , suggest that Latino/a immigrants should seek out collaborative healthcare utilizing medical family therapy, “as a biopsychosocial systems model, in which all problems are conceptualized as biological, psychological, and social in nature. In this model, effective treatment addresses each component systematically” (p. 200). New undocumented immigrants may receive healthcare, psychological counseling, and social skills through the physician and the family therapist, in a culturally competent manner.
Cultural Awareness
Initially, this learner believed that illegal immigrants were free loaders who hang out looking for day labor jobs. They do not speak English, and they have no documented identification. The truth as this learner has come to believe, is that migrants today constitute an ‘underclass’ or… ‘underside of history. ’ “They are contemporary society’s archetypal stranger—with an imposed identity that comes with untold misery. Their strategic forms of struggle for recognition and their creative use of ‘imposed shrunken spaces’… as a revelatory quality” (Cruz, p. 370).
The history of Mexican immigration, border policy and treatment of Mexican immigrants, their reasoning behind leaving their home country for a better life, and the risks they take to migrate addresses the splintering of more than just families; it also splinters Mexico. This learner has come to believe that Mexican immigrants leave their homeland in order to obtain a better life in the United States. These undocumented immigrants are illegal per the US federal government. Yet, at the end of the day, this learner has gained – 14 – great compassion and respect for people who would leave behnid all that they know.
With immigration come traumatic events of migration, physical and psychological disorders, a foreign culture, lack of money, difficulty securing employment and/or a place to reside. Each of these people, despite speaking a language different than this learner’s, would do exactly the same as they did. Making a better life for oneself and family is the American Way. Multicultural diversity continues to grow, with Latinos/as the most rapidly increasing culture in America.
