Young undocumented Latinos who gain legal status, even on a temporary basis, experience significant positive effects on their psychological well-being, according to a new study published in the journal Social Science & Medicine.
UC Merced professor Whitney Pirtle and UC Davis
Young undocumented Latinos who gain legal status, even on a temporary basis, experience significant positive effects on their psychological well-being, according to a new study published in the journal Social Science & Medicine.
UC Merced professor Whitney Pirtle and UC Davis professor Caitlin Patler examined the health impacts of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which allows eligible undocumented youth to apply for temporary lawful status that includes work authorization and a reprieve from deportation.
Even the temporary legal “safety” of that transition reduces distress and negative emotions, demonstrating a link between structural racism — which manifests in laws and policies — and health.
“Undocumented people live with constant worry and fear,” Pirtle said. “One of the most telling quotes from survey respondents who had gained DACA status was that DACA allowed her ‘peace. [I can] breathe better. Hope. And knowing I exist. I feel like I belong and other people know I exist.’
“Many of the young people involved in the survey reported improvements within a year of obtaining DACA. They were able to get drivers licenses, jobs, education and health care, and fulfill other basic needs that relieved some of the distress and negative emotions they commonly experience.”
Pirtle, whose research examines health outcomes in marginalized populations, said that although DACA status improved several outcomes related to psychological well-being, it did not lessen young people’s worry about other family members being deported.
“DACA is an individualized program, and its benefits don’t extend to family members,” Patler said. “Much of existing U.S. immigration policy is based on family unity and reunification; our research demonstrates how valuable it would be for family members to also have access to legal status — and ideally a permanent status that includes a path to citizenship.”
DACA was introduced in June 2012, and the first applications were accepted in August of that year. Between August 2012 and March 2015, more than 1.1 million applications for initial DACA status or DACA renewal were filed, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and Patler said approval rates are near 90 percent.
But even applying for legal status can cause distress, Pirtle pointed out.
“A lot of people take risks in applying for legal s