Contexts for Trauma in the Migration Process
Traumatic experiences may occur before, during, or after migration to the United States. The following sections describe these three contexts for trauma. Migrants may have extremely different experiences due to their documentation status; this report will highlight some of the specific experiences of undocumented migrants, as this population faces additional levels of instabillity and lack of safety.
Pre-Migration
The political, economic, and social conditions of an immigrant’s country of origin may contribute to pre-migration traumatic experiences. Migrants often cite three potentially traumatic experiences that prompt them to leave their countries of origin: violence; chronic poverty and economic instability; and family separation.
Governmental Violence
Some governments use violence to control their residents, force ideological shifts, or obtain political goals. Governments may use high-level officials, the military, or law enforcement to execute violence. This may create distrust, disrupt community bonds, and harm the social fabric of society (“Political Violence” 2020).A survey of Guatemalan, Honduran, and Salvadoran migrants to the United States found that 83% reported violent, traumatic situations perpetrated by their government (Keller 2017:17). In El Salvador, for example, a subset of the Salvadoran police force known as the “death squad” murdered, assaulted, robbed, and extorted civilians, creating general fear and distrust of authority figures (Roth 2019). These “death squads” are still rumored to exist and extrajudicial killings and excessive force are still reported on behalf of Salvadoran security forces (Roth 2019). Because of this, many Salvadorans continue to identify governmental authorities as “a terrifying and abusive force,” a common sentiment following such violence (Martin 1989:6).
Organized Crime
Organized crime includes local gangs and transnational criminal organizations. These groups may be involved with the drug trade and other extralegal activities. They may target civilians, including children, with intensive violence to assert dominance and recruit new members (Danmert 2017). One study conducted by the United Nations Refugee Agency found that 31% of child migrants from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras had faced gang or cartel violence (United Nations 2014: 27). Of those, 69% noted specific instances of being beaten, robbed, or threatened by gangs and 59% discussed the fear their communities felt due to these groups (United Nations 2014: 27).
The threat of violence from criminal gangs may follow immigrants even after migration. Some teachers in Knox County find that their students receive death threats and violent images via text message from gang members in the country of origin. During our focus group conversation with educators, one teacher mentioned consoling a student who had received “a picture that day of one of her family members in Guatemala that had been murdered. Whoever had taken that photo… it was very graphic, and [the person] sent it to [the student’s] phone.”
Violence Against Women and Children
Violence against women includes intimate partner violence, violence against pregnant women, femicide, and human trafficking. The Inter-American Development Bank estimates that 30 to 50 percent of Latin American women have experienced psychological abuse from an intimate partner, and 10 to 30 percent have experienced physical violence (Bliss 2017). Seven Latin American countries score among the top ten nations with the highest rates of femicide— the murder of women (Gasman 2020). Women are also vulnerable to sexual violence and exploitation by criminal gangs where they are forced into unwanted relationships (Leutert 2018). Violence against women in migrants’ countries of origin is exacerbated by lack of attention or resolution from law enforcement and other officials; some Latin American women are trying to raise awareness of this issue by holding public protests and promoting direct community action. \n\nChildren are especially vulnerable to violence. Even when children are witnesses of violence, rather than direct targets, memories of traumatic violence may linger and prevent children from feeling safe in their families, homes, and communities (United Nations 2014: 43).
Chronic Poverty and Instability
One out of five Latin Americans live in chronic poverty and therefore live below the poverty line for extended periods of time. This proportion is significantly higher in Central America; half of Guatemalans and more than 40% of Hondurans live in chronic poverty (Vakis et. al 2015). This poverty is seen in both rural and urban areas, but those living in rural chronic poverty tend to have fewer economic opportunities and larger households than those in urban centers (Vakis et. al 2015). For example, rural family farmers account for over 80% of the farms in Latin America, yet these farmers face some of the highest rates of food insecurity, or unreliable access to food (Food and Agriculture 2020). Latin American countries produce enough food to feed their populations, but much of this food is exported and access to food is unequally distributed, especially for indigenous populations (Food and Agriculture 2020). Climate change, through temperature increases and natural disasters, has disrupted the productivity of family farms, exacerbating the lack of access to food.
Family Separation
Estimates suggest that anywhere from 21 to 85 percent of child migrants have been separated from one or more parents and have spent, on average, more than a quarter of their lives apart from their parents (Murphey 2016:14). Family separation may result from a parent or caretaker fleeing violence or seeking economic opportunity in a different country, forcing them to leave their child behind until further notice. Although many parents migrate to protect their families—for example, to better financially support their children—children may not understand the parent’s absence or may experience diminished financial circumstances, which they are unable to contextualize or understand (Murphey 2016:14). Children who are separated from their families may struggle with maintaining emotional attachment to physically distant parents, which may increase feelings of abandonment (Murphey 2016:14). Children may feel as though they have no one to rely on but themselves, which may impact their willingness or ability to receive parental guidance once reunited with parents.