Deporting Youth: The Emotional and Physical Affects of Violence and Trauma on Undocumented Migration

• In Event: Invited Session - Gazes on children, youth and generations in international migrations

Abstract

Deportation has taken on new characteristics during the Obama administration, escalating in severity, and quantity, affecting ever-broader populations. Of particular concerns are the unaccompanied minors (UAMs) travelling across the U.S. Mexico border. This paper examine the public health impacts of violence and trauma, surrounding youths’ experiences leaving their homes, crossing the border, being apprehended and then deported to Mexico. Many young people leave their homes due to traumatic or violent situations; others are separated from friends and family either in custody or during the journey across the border. These separations create the circumstances for violence and abuse that can have lasting effects on people and communities. As adolescents these big life events have a formative impact on their future, shaping their interactions with society and their families for decades to come. These traumatic experiences are discussed in the paper, especially those associated with human trafficking, drug smuggling and other violent encounters focusing on how people are handled and treated as the pass from U.S. custody to Mexican custody. The research for the paper was carried out at multiple sites on the Mexico/United States border. This project builds on previous collaborative research with adults conducted in five border cities in 2011-12 based on 1,100 one hour surveys and qualitative in-depth interviews.

Author

• Scott Whiteford, University of Arizona