453 Examining Mental Health and Access to Mental Health Services among Deported Mexican Migrants: Results from a Probability Survey on the Mexico-U.S. Border

Abstract OP 22: Mental Health 4, B302 (FCSH), September 4, 2025, 14:45 - 15:45 The conditions migrants face before leaving their home communities, throughout their journey, and upon settling in receiving communities can severely impact their mental health. Detention and deportation, in particular, are traumatic experiences that can either trigger new mental health issues or worsen existing ones. Between 2021 and 2024, migrants attempting to enter the U.S. were detained and forcibly returned to their home countries 1.27 million times. Additionally, the U.S. carried out over 650,000 deportations. We analyzed data from the Migrante Project, an observatory of migrant health along the Mexico-U.S. border, to assess the mental health of migrants forcibly returned or deported from the U.S. to Mexico. Between 2023 and 2024, deported migrants (N = 302) completed a probability-based, interviewer-administered survey in migrant reception centers in Tijuana, Ciudad Juarez, and Matamoros, Mexico. The survey covered demographics, migration history, mental health history, screening scales for mental health conditions, and access to mental health services. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The majority of deported migrants were male (79.5%) with an average age of 33.0 years (SD = 9.7). About 35.1% had established lives in the U.S. at the time of their last detention. While only 6.6% had ever been diagnosed with a mental health condition, a larger percent (59.9%) met the criteria for depression (13.3%), anxiety (23.3%), post-traumatic stress disorder (53.5%), and/or had considered suicide in the past year (1.3%). Despite these high rates of mental health issues, only 9.9% had used mental health medication or received services from a provider in the last 12 months The results indicate a high prevalence of mental health conditions among deported or returned Mexican migrants, coupled with limited?access to diagnostic and treatment services. There is a critical?need for programs and policies that ensure timely and effective mental health diagnosis and care for this vulnerable population.