Salvadoran Immigrants in the United States

According to pew research center’s most recent estimate based on the 2011 American community survey, there was 1.89 million Cubans and 1.95 million Salvadorans living in the U.S. statistically speaking those two estimates are indistinguishable from each other and it’s been that way since 2008. However, most Salvadorian moved here because of civil war. Like most ethnic groups who experience some type of struggle or war within their country move somewhere safer. One of the many limitations is undocumented immigrants will have to leave if Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals is the revote. The largest immigration wave occurred as a result of Salvadoran Civil War in 1980, in which 30% of Salvadorian migrated. This Literature paper will explore the possibility of deportation effects on Salvadorans seniors. The Literature paper will discuss the measurement tools used and the intervention to help Salvadorian to cope with DACA.

Salvadorian much similar to most American who migrated here because of difficulty within their country. Native Indians were here first; which mean this is their country. However, this is not a history paper, but a literature paper about Salvadorian’s elders being affected by deportation. I just wanted to state the obvious. I believe Salvadorian has just as more right in the United States as anyone else living in the United States. The Salvadorian history was rich once with culture but was destroyed by war like many cultures: which have been affected by war, poverty or disease. The history of Salvadorans was a result of both economic and political problems. After the war, most Salvadorans moved to the United States, in most living in the greater Los Angeles area and Washington D.C.; which has the most population of Salvadorians living this day.

For the life of me, don’t understand the President’s decision to deport and uproot people’s lives. President Trump has decided to deport every Latin family who is undocumented or under DACA Program and make them build a wall. How inhuman is that? There will be about 200,000 Salvadorans provoked if Homeland Security decides to extend or designation the El Salvador as a Temporary Protected Status. This will affect many families and it might even affect the economy. This means there is a possibility Salvadorans will be deported back to their country. There are Salvadorians who have children who have been born here and many Salvadorian are on a temporary visa. This Temporary Protection Status legislation was set in place in the United States to protect the Salvadorans and other foreigners from returning back to their country for a number of reasons. For instance, when nations experience earthquake, flood, deficiency or war; that prevent safe return.

A single family is a new norm among Salvadoran and most mothers have children from multiple partners. I believe poverty is a limitation that affects the family dynamics and not to mention able to afford a traditional marriage. Among the well-documented changes is rising age at marriage, an increase in cohabitation, and a dramatic shift in the proportion of children born outside marriage, (Bramlett and Mosher, 2002; Casper and Bianchi, 2002; Wu and Wolfe, 2001). Some studies suggest that Latino youth in single-parent families are at greater risk for negative outcomes, (Creighton, Park, & Teruel, 2009; Gil, Vega, & Biafora, 1998). Most culture comes to the United States and gets Americanized lost their culture, values, and norms.

Familism is typically regarded as a multidimensional concept that reflects both values and behaviors that emphasize the needs of the family over the needs of individuals (Vega, 1995). Evaluations of Hispanic familism, however, are complicated by the fact that family behavior is not shaped solely by normative orientations and values; it is also strongly influenced by the socioeconomic position and the structure of economic opportunities in the broader society. Thus, contemporary scholars generally argue that Hispanic family patterns can best be understood within a social adaptation framework, which stresses the interplay between familistic values and the circumstances experienced by Hispanics in their everyday lives, (Landale NS, Oropesa RS, Bradatan C., 2006). Salvadorian use to have family values, but over the years family values are not a priority when you are facing difficulties.

Salvadorian has experienced just as much modification among other culture than other ethnic groups in this country; such as poverty, homelessness or war. Psychological stress is an important risk factor in this regard, because it relates to a broad range of aging-related health outcomes, (Charles ST, Piazza JR, Mogle J, Sliwinski MJ, Almeida DM, 201) & Andel R, Crowe M, Kareholt I, Wastesson J, and Parker MG, 2011), because it represents a target for prevention and intervention strategies. An implicit assumption in the literature on acculturation and health behaviors is that beliefs, norms, or values change with greater acculturation, (Castro FG, Stein JA, Bentler PM. 2009, & German M., Gonzales NA, Dumka L., 2008 & Gil AG, Wagner EF., Vega WA., 2000 & Rudmin FW., 2003 & Sale E., Sambrano S., Springer JF., Pena C., Pan W., Kasim R., 2005 & Unger JB., Johnson CA., Shakib S., Gallaher P., Ritt-Olson A., 2006 & Yabiku ST,. Marsiglia FF., Kulis S., Parsai MB., Becerra D., Del-Colle M., 2010). There have been no progressions for most ethnic groups living in the United States because of poverty and poverty shift the norms among any group under stress.

The lack of resources, housing, employment, finance, and food can change and shape any culture norm and over time progression will continue to progress over time. Social workers are the key to helping to advocate awareness. For example, among adolescents, evidence shows that acculturation is associated with decreases in family values such as family connectedness and respect for parents, and these decreases, in turn, are associated with adolescent alcohol use, (Gil AG, Wagner EF, Vega WA, 2000). Our descriptive analyses demonstrate that Hispanics—like other racial/ethnic groups—exhibit many behaviors that are consistent with what some scholars call ‘family decline’, (Popenoe, 1993). As long as there is a lack of resource and financial resources thing will continue to decline within ethical groups living in the United States. I’m sure before Salvadorian moved to the United States there was such a thing in their country as a family value. War can destroy any family system, norms, values because most have to learn how to adapt to a new environment.

At the same time, Hispanics (especially Mexican Americans) are typically described as oriented toward family well-being, rather than individual well-being (Sabogal, Marin, Otero-Sabogal, VanOss Marin, and Perez-Stable, 1987; Valenzuela and Dornbusch, 1994; Vega, 1995).

Nonetheless, it is likely that the course of assimilation decreases familism and reassures the individualism that some have claimed this is the heart of recent changes in family behavior. Current issues access to medical for most Salvadorian are undocumented, so some struggle with medical insurance. Faith, rooted in Roman Catholicism, is generally the cornerstone of Hispanic life (Nava, 2000).

The method of intervention I will be using is Cognitive Behavior Therapy; which highlights the social environment particularly how we learn from and how it influences our environments. Once the family has expressed their issues it’s the social worker ethical responsibility to apply the appropriate intervention to assist with deportation. Our solution should help the family alleviate the problems and work with a supporting system. Working with the Salvadorian families and hearing their problems is just part of the process leading to the solution. The social worker moves with empathy and not sympathy. As a Social worker should always paraphrase to make sure we are hearing the family needs. For instance, the family discusses having the issue with adjusting to the culture or deportation. I recommend that the family connect with social services and Hispanic center. Psychological stress is an important risk factor in this regard, because it relates to a broad range of aging-related health outcomes and because it represents a target for prevention and intervention strategy, (Stacey B. Scott, Jennifer E. Graham-Engeland, Christopher G. Engeland, Joshua M. Smyth, David M. Almeida, Mindy J. Katz, Richard B. Lipton, Jacqueline A. Mogle, Elizabeth Munoz, Nilam Ram, and Martin J. Sliwinski, 2015).

After evaluation, I consider using Cognitive Behavior Therapy, to assist the client to focus on the solutions to future circumstances and set goals rather than focusing on the past experience. Salvadorian should feel hopeful because there is a lot of supporting factors and just to name one NASW is one supporting factor.

One of many of Limitation upon Salvadorian Elderly are facing is deportation. By increasing these limitations on a Salvadorian Elder or any elder could be detrimental. Stress can lead to a number of health issues. More than 5.4 million US adults over the age of 70 have cognitive impairment without dementia; another 4.7 million have a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s dementia, (Plassman BL, Langa KM, McCammon RJ, Fisher GG, Potter GG, Burke JR, Steffens DC, Foster NL, Giordani B, Unverzagt FW, Welsh-Bohmer KA, Heeringa SG, Weir DR, Wallace RB, 2011). Salvadorians are facing such difficult decisions; which could cost more issues. Social workers need skills to assess clients’ entire systems. If ignored, social workers may echo society’s oppression by assuming that clients need to change, rather than working for societal change (Pinderhughes, 1989).

How would I determine if an elderly Salvadorian is cognitive really to go back to a country they don’t know? Research, say URT is the psychological mechanism that prolongs physiological and emotional responses daily and chronic stress; which, in turn, can have short or long-term negative consequences for cognitive function. Stress-related dysregulations of physiological systems particularly of hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis function and inflammation are proposed as physiological mechanisms that result in reduced cognitive function over the long term, (Scott SB., Graham-Engeland JE., Smyth JM., Almeida DM., Katz MJ., Lipton RB., Mogle JA., Munoz E., Ram N. and Sliwinski MJ., 2015). After carefully assessing the Salvadorian elderly living in the United States I determine to use ESCAPE project to measure the longitudinal of their cognitive through URT. ESCAPE (Effects of Stress on Cognitive aging, Physiology, and Emotion), is the measuring tool to test the pathway through URT which stressful experiences negatively affect cognitive health over a short or long term. Psychological anxiety can and will affect the cognitive function indefinitely. Social worker concerns are the well-being of our client and cognitive, (Stacey B. Scott, Jennifer E. Graham-Engeland, Christopher G. Engeland, Joshua M. Smyth, David M. Almeida, Mindy J. Katz, Richard B. Lipton, Jacqueline A. Mogle, Elizabeth Munoz, Nilam Ram, and Martin J. Sliwinski, 2015).

My conclusion is deportation among a senior Salvadorian is not inhuman, if elderly have been living in the United States for most of their lives or since 1980 this should consider their home like everyone else. According to NASW statement, President Trump’s immigration executive order is inhuman. Human Rights Watch estimates that between the years of 1997 to 2007 about 1 million people lost an immediate family member to deportation and this does not count the 2 million under other administration. There have been many changes in ethical cultures in the United States; which all are not good changes. I look at other countries who have free education, free medical, free housing, but it’s something we live in the land of the free and some has nothing. Where is balance in that? My solutions are to continue to support what is right.

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