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From undocumented to lawfully present: Do changes to legal status impact psychological wellbeing among latino immigrant young adults?

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  • Patler, Caitlin
  • Laster Pirtle, Whitney

Abstract

Exclusionary immigration policies, as a form of structural racism, have led to a sizeable undocumented population that is largely barred from access to resources in the United States. Existing research suggests that undocumented immigration status detrimentally impacts mobility, yet few studies have tested the impacts of legal status on psychological wellbeing. Most importantly, we know little about how changes to legal status impact wellbeing. Announced in 2012, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program allows eligible undocumented youth to apply for temporary lawful status. Drawing on cross-sectional survey data from 487 Latino immigrant young adults in California collected in 2014 and 2015, we analyze the predictors of three specialized outcomes related to immigrants’ psychological wellbeing—distress, negative emotions, and deportation worry before and after a transition from undocumented to lawfully present status. Results show that retrospective reports of past psychological wellness, when all respondents were undocumented, are predicted primarily by socioeconomic status. However, reports of current psychological wellness are predicted by DACA status. Our results demonstrate, for the first time, the positive emotional consequences of transitioning out of undocumented status for immigrant young adults.

Suggested Citation

  • Patler, Caitlin & Laster Pirtle, Whitney, 2018. "From undocumented to lawfully present: Do changes to legal status impact psychological wellbeing among latino immigrant young adults?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 39-48.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:199:y:2018:i:c:p:39-48
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.03.009
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    Cited by:

    1. Erin R. Hamilton & Caitlin Patler & Robin Savinar, 2022. "Immigrant Legal Status Disparities in Health Among First- and One-point-five-Generation Latinx Immigrants in California," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(3), pages 1241-1260, June.
    2. Ortega, Francesc & Hsin, Amy, 2018. "Occupational Barriers and the Labor Market Penalty from Lack of Legal Status," IZA Discussion Papers 11680, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Nelly Elmallakh & Jackline Wahba, 2022. "Return migrants and the wage premium: does the legal status of migrants matter?," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 35(4), pages 1631-1685, October.
    4. Barajas-Gonzalez, R. Gabriela & Ayón, Cecilia & Brabeck, Kalina & Rojas-Flores, Lisseth & Valdez, Carmen R., 2021. "An ecological expansion of the adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) framework to include threat and deprivation associated with U.S. immigration policies and enforcement practices: An examination of t," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    5. Ortega, Francesc & Hsin, Amy, 2022. "Occupational barriers and the productivity penalty from lack of legal status," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    6. Gihleb, Rania & Giuntella, Osea & Lonsky, Jakub, 2023. "Dreaming of leaving the nest? Immigration status and the living arrangements of DACAmented," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    7. Higuera, Kimberly & Jiménez, Tomás R., 2023. "Mechanism mapping: A qualitative study of how different forms of instability mediate the relationship between legal status and immigrant mental well-being," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 329(C).
    8. Alexis M. Silver, 2023. "Reconstructing Roots: Emotional Drivers of Migration and Identity," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-15, January.

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