Use of Migrants for Political Gain Must Be Stopped
In a tactic to protest the rise of illegal immigration, Republican governors in Texas, Florida, and Arizona spent millions of taxpayer dollars to send migrant families to cities with Democratic mayors and governors, including New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Martha’s Vineyard. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has called on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the Texas and Florida governors’ “inhumane efforts to use kids as political pawns” and determine if their actions constitute kidnapping. Others accused these governors of engaging in human trafficking and treating migrants like, “human cargo” to score political points.
Arbitrarily moving migrants to different parts of the country without due process of law and informed consent is cruel and unethical. It does not align with our moral and ethical standards as Americans who stand up for dignity and human rights. As psychiatrists, we need to raise awareness of the current situation before it worsens.
These migrants were coerced into signing documents declaring that the rides to Democratic cities were “voluntary,” with promises of work opportunities, housing, and “good things,” awaiting them. Many of them are seeking asylum after fleeing danger in their homelands (including Colombia, Cuba, Guyana, Nicuragua, Panama, and Venezuela), where instability is a product of complex foreign policy interventions by powers like the United States. Some worry they will miss their immigration interview appointments, now scheduled in different states. While people in these Democratic communities welcomed the migrants and made efforts to meet their needs, they were overwhelmed by the influx of nearly 11,000 migrants.
Unfortunately, the use of vulnerable people for political purposes is not uncommon, and such administrative violence only adds insult to the long line of injuries that migrants experience. Migrant families often endure stress and experience psychological and physical trauma before, during, and after their migration journeys. Some are forced to abandon their homes for fear of persecution, torture, kidnapping, starvation, lack of medical aid, war, and natural disasters. They may have witnessed loved ones suffer and die during these crises and know their remaining family members’ safety is threatened by those in power. Leaving behind the only life they have known, they traverse fraught journeys through harsh landscapes, physically and sexually abusive traffickers, opportunistic smugglers, and inhumane detention conditions, including separation from family members. They may travel by foot over months to reach our border and seek asylum.
Once they reach the United States, these families must then navigate unfamiliar systems and new cultures amid xenophobia and racism, which are pervasive both at the interpersonal level and within the political, medical, and academic systems. Migrants are already at high risk for anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and suicidality. The additional confusion and disappointment of being duped and displaced by authorities add to their trauma, disappointment, alienation, hopelessness, and acculturation difficulties. Research has shown the adverse impacts—termed the “violence of uncertainty”—that migrants suffer as they endure extensive wait times for results of their humanitarian relief claims. Further research has demonstrated the negative psychiatric and physical effects that migrants and American citizen children of migrants suffer as they become aware of discriminatory policies and rhetoric around migration.
These recent actions by Republican governors denigrate our collective sense of self and align us with the discriminatory parts of America’s history, rather than with the humanity of our new neighbors and the inclusive future we hope to cultivate together. Research has shown that discrimination of migrants makes resettlement and integration into their new homes more difficult, contributing to individual and societal tension. As psychiatrists, we need to elicit support for these families and consider the many challenges families at the border have faced throughout contemporary American history. We need to advocate for them by insisting that the current administration fulfill its campaign pledges by urging our legislators to speak up against inhumane treatment and by helping our peers identify migrants’ suffering. We must support their physical and mental well-being and the opportunity for a better life. ■
