Predicting Mexican Migrant Distress in the U.S. During Intense Immigration Enforcement Periods

U.S. immigration policies and enforcement practices make it increasingly difficult for noncitizens to migrate to their countries of origin freely, which has implications for physical and mental distress. This study seeks to answer: (1) how does immigration enforcement impact Mexican immigrants’ mental and physical distress? And (2) what are the consequences of separation from parents for adult Mexican immigrants? Participants ( n = 2,334, 95% male, M = 48 years, 93% surveyed in Mexico, M = 95 months in the U.S.) come from the Mesoamerican Migration Project. Using cluster-adjusted logistic regression we apply a stress process theoretical framework. After adjusting for various sociodemographic and structural factors, analyses examine how changes in immigration enforcement budgets and “no parental migration” (i.e., neither parent migrating) might influence the well-being of Mexican immigrants. Our expected findings are that (1) intense immigration enforcement will increase the odds of distress, that (2) Mexican immigrants who migrate without their parents will be more likely to experience distress than those who do, and that (3) the negative effect of separation from parents will be exacerbated by longer periods of time in the U.S. Our results do not support the first hypothesis, do support the second hypothesis, and partially support the third hypothesis. Findings identified a negative association between immigration enforcement and levels of distress experienced by Mexican immigrants, but many of the stressors associated with the immigration experience—including separation from parents, use of a coyote, being surveyed during the Trump era, and longer periods of time in the U.S.—significantly increase the odds of distress. These findings highlight how migration patterns shift in the face of enforcement practices, and how individual immigration experiences—most notably separation from parents for adult immigrants—affect the mental and physical well-being of Mexican immigrants.