Meeting Migration Trauma with Trust, Generosity, and Support

On Wednesday, March 13th, Young Center Executive Director Gladis Molina Alt gave the 28th Karen J. Honig Memorial Lecture at the UIC Jane Addams College of Social Work. The title of the lecture was “Welcoming the Newcomer: Meeting Migration Trauma with Trust, Generosity, and Support.” What follows is an abridged version of the same lecture.

There are layers of trauma that immigrants often endure.

First, there is the trauma in the country of origin. The insecurity surrounding personal safety, the lack of protection, the ongoing violence, an outright war, political oppression in the country, or conditions that limit basic human rights. There is also the constant struggle for everyday necessities — food, shelter, water — and access to education and health care. If we pause to simply consider the impact of these circumstances in people’s lives, we can imagine the sense of fear, anxiety, hopelessness, and desperation that people must experience. The emotional and psychological impact — not to mention the physical impact — takes a toll on people.

Any of us would be thinking about and looking for a way out fast.

Second, there is the trauma of the departure and the journey. Having to leave one’s home because of these circumstances adds a layer of loss for people. It is not easy to leave behind the place you consider home, your sense of family, community, and belonging. Children who are left behind by parents often experience a sense of abandonment and isolation, and sometimes go on to experience other harm without the care and protection of their parents.

As a little girl, I stayed behind in El Salvador when my father left before I turned two and when my mother left to join my father a month before I turned five. As a mature adult and mother now, I am still unpacking the full impact of our family’s separation because of the devastating civil war in El Salvador.

The journey to a new destination leaves deep wounds and scars –physical and psychological — for many migrants. You have likely heard the stories in the news, read books, or seen the movies that depict the dangers migrants face as they travel across borders without the protection of a visa or financial resources.

I have spent time in migrant camps and shelters along the Texas-Mexico border. There, I have heard firsthand accounts of the violence and horrors experienced by migrants, including kidnappings and extorsion, armed robberies, rape, mutilations or burns from riding on top of trains, beatings, and other forms of assault.

One particular story that stayed with me is that of a mother whose young son was taken from an open camp for migrants along the Rio Grande River in Matamoros, Mexico and subsequently raped.

A third layer of trauma is added when immigrants finally reach the U.S. border. Here, migrants face the stress and dangers of dealing with a militarized border, barriers that can cause them physical injuries, criminal prosecutions, prisons, detention centers, legal immigration proceedings without an attorney, family separation, and other policies in place that are meant to deal with a problem. A crisis. An invasion. Not traumatized human beings.

You can probably summon the images in the media that paint this picture at the border. We’ve even seen the images of border patrol agents mounted on horses, pushing people away from the U.S.

Through our work with children at the Young Center, we get to bear witness to the trauma and harm experienced by these young newcomers. In their stories, we hear and see the impact of family separation, our punitive systems, and unwelcoming policies. Distress, isolation, shame, uncertainty, and fatigue are just some of the words that convey the impact the kids we serve experience.

After newcomers make it through the border, the interior of our country awaits with its own demanding and overwhelming reality: navigating life in a different language and systems; securing stable employment, housing, and food; establishing systems of support in this new American life; and finding a way to belong in place where the dominant culture does not exactly reflect a newcomer’s identity.

Sadly, the policies proposed, passed, or implemented in the last three decades have not sent a welcoming message for immigrants and have increased punitive measures. Rather, they’ve only added to the layers of trauma and increased vulnerabilities, dehumanizing immigrants, and discounted their potential to become contributing members of our society.

Exactly 30 years ago this year, in my home state of California, voters passed Proposition 187 to prevent undocumented children from accessing public education and other services, in response to the record number of foreign-born children that were enrolling in California’s public schools. At the time, I had just started 9th grade. My classmates included refugee kids from Cambodia and other parts of the world; kids from Mexico whose parents had brought them to California because the economy there was so bad –and which the passage a trade agreement between Mexico, the U.S. and Canada did not help at all.

As a freshman in high school, I was stressed out by the idea that I would not be allowed to attend school anymore. What would become of my life? With no immigration status, I did not have many options. I got the message that it was wrong (and might soon be completely illegal) for me to be in the public education system, and that I was not welcomed in the U.S.

Soon after, in 1995, T.C. Boyle’s book, The Tortilla Curtain, came out. In it, Boyle captures the world of undocumented immigrants during the 1990s in California and how their lives crossed with middle class Americans. The reader enters the world of a main character who firmly opposes the idea of having a wall built around his residential community to keep animals and unwelcomed people, like Blacks and immigrants, out. Eventually he begins to soften on his resistance and wonders whether it’s a fight that really matters to him. The pendulum swings back when he has “a vision…of all the starving hordes lined up at the border, of the criminals and gangbangers in their ghettos…and no end to it…” [pg. 227].

Fast-forward to 2010, we saw the passage of Senate Bill 1070 in Arizona to drive undocumented immigrants out and make it hard for them to live in Arizona.

Then, in 2018, the Trump Administration sought to deter migrant families from entering the U.S. by separating parents from their children. The policy did not work. It only tore families apart and caused deep harm. During the last Administration, immigrants were dehumanized to whole new levels, and supporters of the Administration were fed a false narrative of “Us vs. Them.”

Last December, the Texas governor signed into law Senate Bill 4, which gives law enforcement the ability to prosecute immigrants who cross the border into Texas at undesignated points of entry.

Finally, in last week’s State of the Union, there was a lingering message that immigration is a threat to be contained and that our President would work with Congress to this end. Depending on the level of that threat, our government could very well close the border, even for asylum-seekers.

It is a scary sign of the times when our government is willing to throw asylum protections under the bus or take them away altogether. When fear kicks in, elected officials put forward policies and practices that are short-sighted, punitive, and often unconstitutional, especially for children who enter the U.S. alone and are taken into federal custody.

Having access to pathways to remain in the U.S. with lawful status, such as asylum, reduces the risk that children of a working age will be exploited in the labor force. It is children who must live in the shadows, and without legal protection and necessary support, that often-become targets for exploitation or human trafficking. We must expand legal pathways for protection rather than reduce them or outright make it impossible to access those pathways.

Looking ahead, we must recognize that taking legal protections away for newcomers and closing the border will not work. It will lead to more families enduring separation and migrants having to remain in dangerous conditions, increasing the likelihood that people will suffer additional trauma, violence, exploitation, and even death.

So how can we craft a response built on trust, support, and generosity?

First, let’s begin by trusting that immigrants will continue to propel our nation forward. Let’s truly become a nation that sees newcomers — not as a problem — but as an opportunity to simultaneously provide safety for those in need of protection and for our nation to incorporate diverse ideas and secure an able workforce into the future.

What would an approach grounded in trust look like?

1. First, our government would adopt policies with a mindset that detention and undue surveillance of newcomers is unnecessary. The starting point for our border policies would NOT reflect the response to an invasion. Our response would be human centered as opposed to being centered on punishment.

2. Then, our policies would allow newcomers to access and integrate into our education and workforce systems while preserving and strengthening opportunities for our own citizens. There CAN be enough for everyone. We must trust that our nation will not go bankrupt if our policies allow for the integration of newcomers. On the contrary. Integration can move us forward. The reality is that as a nation we will face workforce shortages if we don’t have a plan for meeting the need in the coming years. Canada’s government is already working with international organizations to build pathways for workers in other countries to enter Canada and become part of its labor force. In some cases, these workers are people who have been waiting for years to access the refugee resettlement process. Now they have access to a workforce pathway.

3. Thirdly, our policies would reflect a firm belief that investing in immigrants WILL unleash and develop their potential. We wouldn’t give up on newcomers, understanding that their path may not be a straight shot.

These are just some examples of trust-based approaches that would change the course of our current national dialogue. The arrival of new immigrants can strengthen our Nation. It does not weaken, dilute, or poison us. In the past, we’ve relied on immigrants to build our nation, and that will remain true in the years ahead. We don’t get to say that we are a nation of immigrants only when immigrants look, think, or behave like us.

Next, I want to share some recommendations for policymakers and governments that would further support newcomers and the wellbeing of immigrant children and their families.

1. To begin, we can make government services, programs, and support systems available to asylum-seekers trying to secure:

a. Housing and food,

b. Health services, including mental health support, and

c. Job training and placement.

2. We must also preserve and enforce protections for immigrants, such as:

a. Ensuring that newcomers can access asylum and other existing pathways to remain in the U.S. with lawful immigration status.

b. Pursuing legal action for employers that violate labor and workplace safety laws. This is to prevent the abuse or exploitation of immigrant workers. Making sure that unscrupulous employers do NOT go unchecked is one way to combat child labor exploitation. We cannot simply respond by placing the burden of pursuing justice (or avoiding injustices) on the workers themselves.

c. And allowing immigrant families to remain together. Children do best when they are with their family and have access to support systems within their community.

3. And thirdly, we ought to replicate policies and practices that support immigrants in reaching their full potential and becoming self-sufficient. For example:

a. State laws that allow immigrants, independent of their immigration status, the opportunity to obtain a driver’s licenses so that transportation is not a barrier.

b. Local and state efforts to provide funding for legal services so that immigrants can exercise their due process rights and pursue pathways to citizenship with the assistance of an attorney.

c. Local, county or state programs that work with immigrants who don’t have much access to financial capital to establish their own businesses. There is little use in making it overly difficult for newcomers to employ themselves using skills they already possess.

The long-term solution to immigration is grounded in seeing the opportunity presented by the arrival of newcomers to meet our nation’s needs and by giving newcomers the support they need to build their own futures.

Lastly, let’s consider ways in which we as individuals can be generous by how we show up for newcomers.

Within our institutions, we can be a welcoming face, become part of a larger welcoming community. You can show newcomers they are welcomed in the way you greet them or serve them in a school, hospital, office, or other setting. In small and big ways, immigrants can see the care and respect they are afforded. I still remember the generosity of teachers, librarians, counselors, and professors who took the time to know me as a person, to counsel me, to help me with my work, and to connect me to opportunities.

Share your knowledge and time. If you cross paths with a newcomer that could use some support, take the time to connect with them and share any information that may be helpful. In a place like Chicago, there are several organizations — like the Young Center — that offer training and volunteer opportunities. Your skills and time can always be put to good use.

And thirdly, you can uplift the voices of immigrant communities and honor their own sense of agency. It’s important to listen and take in how they understand their needs and solutions. In doing so, we may need to let go of what we believe is right for them and support a course of action that is led by members of the impacted community. This form of generosity and allyship empowers newcomers.

In the end, we only have a sense of domain over our own actions and reactions. Regardless of the policies and practices that are or aren’t in place, as welcoming and supporting communities for newcomers, we have a choice in how we respond, in our ways of being, and who we become in response to the times.

The choice to trust, to support, and to be generous is always ours.