These new migrants face numerous challenges to mental health, increased psychopathological risk exacerbated by high levels of violence and low state-capacity in their countries of origin, restrictive immigration policies, the fear of deportation for themselves and their family members, and the pressure to integrate once in the U.S. We find that Central American youth have seen improvements in their self-reported mental health after migrating to the U.S., but remain at risk of further trauma exposure, depression, and PTSD. We find that they exhibit a disproportionate likelihood of having lived through traumatizing experiences that put them at higher risk for psychological distress and disorders that may create obstacles to integration. These can, in turn, create new stressors that exacerbate PTSD, depression, and anxiety. These conditions can be minimized through programs that aid immigrant integration and mental health.
This study examined the experiences of immigrant parents seeking asylum in the United States after recently fleeing the Northern Triangle region of Central America, attending both to the traumatic events and the strengths that mitigate this experience. The study employs a convergent parallel mixed-methods design to describe the experiences of 51 parents after being processed by U.S. immigration officials for seeking asylum. Quantitative analyses measured trauma exposure and psychological distress and posttraumatic stress symptoms, as well as religiosity, dispositional optimism, and perceived quality of life.
In the US, unaccompanied migrant children and adolescents (hereinafter referred to as children) are predominantly from Central America’s Northern Triangle. While unaccompanied migrant children are at high risk for psychiatric sequelae due to complex traumatic exposures, longitudinal investigations of psychiatric distress after resettlement are lacking.
Although migration has been a longstanding fact of life in Latin America and the Caribbean, the number of children affected by migration, including both children migrating and residing in host communities, is increasing. UNICEF estimates that 3.5 million children will be affected by migration in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Region in 2022, an estimated increase of 47% over 2021.1 Indeed, increasing numbers of children migrating has been on the rise over the past few years, with children and families now representing an increasing proportion of migration flows as compared to single men, who formed the majority of flows five years ago.
Child migration through the jungle of the Darien Gap has become a protracted crisis. Based on the trends observed in the first four months and the regional context, it is estimated that 800,000 people, including 160,000 children and adolescents, could cross the jungle in 2024, with many likely to require critical humanitarian assistance.
Movement in and through the Darien Gap is not entirely new. Panamanian authorities have been tracking some migrant arrivals since 2010, and there are recorded cases of crossings more than a decade prior. However, until 2021 the numbers of people crossing the jungle were relatively inconsequential in comparison with other migratory pathways in the Americas. That year, more than 130,000 migrants successfully crossed the jungle on foot, up from an average of fewer than 11,000 per year during the previous decade. In 2022, arrivals jumped to almost 250,000 people. That number was surpassed in just the first eight months of 2023, and more than 500,000 people are on pace to cross by the end of this year.
According to a stunning Fusion investigation, 80 percent of women and girls crossing into the U.S. by way of Mexico are raped during their journey. That’s up from a previous estimate of 60 percent, according to an Amnesty International report. Through May, the number of unaccompanied girls younger than 18 caught at the US-Mexico border increased by 77 percent.
An estimated 60 to 80 percent of female migrants from Central America are sexually assaulted on their journey—and perpetrators often act with total impunity. As thousands of Central American women weigh the risks of migrating to the US each year, they must take into account an extra peril: An estimated 80 percent of female migrants from Central America are victims of sexual abuse at the hands of criminal groups, human smugglers, or corrupt officials during the journey.
An estimated 60 to 80 percent of female migrants from Central America are sexually assaulted on their journeyand perpetrators often act with total impunity. As thousands of Central American women weigh the risks of migrating to the US each year, they must take into account an extra peril: An estimated 80 percent of female migrants from Central America are victims of sexual abuse at the hands of criminal groups, human smugglers, or corrupt officials during the journey.
Each year, countless women and children flee violence at home and take an uncertain journey in the hope of finding safety in a new country. While many escape conflict zones or generalized human-rights abuses, some also run from more intimate forms of violence namely, sexual and domestic violence perpetrated by men. Setting off on the journey is no guarantee of safety; many are vulnerable to gender-based abuse in transit and even at destination.
ICMP ensures the cooperation of governments and others in addressing the issue of missing persons, including provisions to build institutional capacity, encourage public involvement and address the needs of justice and provides technical assistance to governments in locating, recovering and identifying missing persons.
Services are offered to torture survivors, and are also offered to family members of torture survivors, of individuals who have been politically assassinated, of disappeared persons, and of people who have been extrajudicially executed by the police. The organisation is based in Honduras (only in Spanish)