Beyond the Border: Health Risks for Children

By: Anthony Elisarraraz, Joshua Milgram, Abigail Narciso Moreno

Beyond the Border: Health Risks for Children at the US-Mexico Border

Start

Young, Janine et al. “Health Risks of Unaccompanied Immigrant Children in Federal Custody and in US Communities.” American journal of public health vol. 114,3 (2024): 340-346. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2023.307570

Some of reasons why they migrate to the US is because of poverty, gang violence, abuse, neglect, sexual violence, and natural disasters Continuing to suffer more trauma during their journey and after

Many unaccompained immigrant children leave their homes due to dangerous or undesirable situations

Behind the Journey

Mistreatment in Detention Centers

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Migrant children are being forcebly detained at the border. Unfortunately mistreatment of children and lack of medical attention has lead to significant injury and illnesses running rampid throughout these facilities.

Among 22 ICE (Immigrations and Customs Enforcement) detention centers there were 1280 instances of influenza.

Influenza (the Flu)

This is perpetrated by the limited access to basic healthcare along with inadequate staffing of medicine and medical professionals at the detention centers.https://rb.gy/2hdj9n

With the peak age of influenza being 4 years old. 37.1% of all influenza cases were children. https://rb.gy/hk7g0p

Mental Health

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Being the child of an immigrant can be bad for psychological health.Being the child of an immigrant means to grow faster, be responsible for family, and to face a lot of challenges with little mental health support.

Depression and PTSD

https://txicfw.socialwork.utexas.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Impact-of-Immigrant-Detention-on-Children-Article.pdf

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8612016/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277953619302138#:~:text=Studies%20conducted%20outside%20the%20U.S.,et%20al.%2C%202017).

Not all health issues are physical, in terms of mental health 10% of all children held in detention centers on the border are diagnosed depressed. Even worse 20% of all children are diagnised with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). *These studies were conducted outside of the United States*- In another study looking into the Persistance of Emotional Distress in unacompanied Migrant Children by Polter, Zheng, et al. Out of 176 migrant children from cental america, roughly 87.6% of boys and 71% of girls show mental distress including but not limited to symptoms of depression and Post Truamatic Stress Disorder.

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https://rb.gy/pxe8s5

The experiences and Stories of Children in U.S.- Mexico Detention Centers

Voices from the Border

A 16 year-old girl and her baby

An 11 year old boy

A 5 year old boy

An 8 year old boy

"They took us away from our grandmother and now we are all alone. They have not given us to our mother. We have been here for a long time. I have to take care of my little sister. She is very sad because she misses our mother and grandmother very much…

"The immigration agents separated me from myfather right away. I was very frightened and scared. I cried. I have not seenmy father again… I have had a cold and cough for several days. I have not seena doctor and I have not been given any medicine.".

"There are little kids here who have no one to take care of them, not even a big brother or sister. Some kids are only two or three years old and they have no one to take care of them."

"We slept on mats on the floor and [they] gave us aluminum blankets. They took our baby’s diapers, baby formula, and all of our belongings. Our clothes were still wetand we were very cold, so we got sick….

• Guilt: Parents sacrificed a lot. Hence, not comfortable expressing emotions to parents.
• Dependent Relationship: Children learn the new language quicker and culture. Hence, expected to translate a lot.
• Affordability: Mental health treatment is expensive.
• Language Barrier: Expressing how one feels in another language can be difficult.

https://www.mhanational.org/blog/be-child-immigrant

To be the child of an immigrant

• Since 2012, more than 600,000 unaccompanied immigrant children of all ages have immigrated to the United States, with almost 130,000 arriving in fiscal year 2022
• Risk of malnutrition, dehydration, and trauma
• Overcrowded with more than 100 kids in an areea.
• Limited access to healthcare once released.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10882381/#:~:text=Gaps%20in%20screening%20for%20unaccompanied,B%20and%20C%2C%20and%20syphilis.