"Migration Is Such a Big, Big Monster": Unaccompanied Children, Mental Health, and the Context of Borderlands in the United States

Background and Purpose:

Unaccompanied children are immigrants under 18 years old who arrive to the United States (US) without a parent or caregiver. Increasing numbers of unaccompanied children are arriving to the US, mostly from Central American countries El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras. Research indicates unaccompanied children experience complex trauma before and during their migration journey. A gap in research is understanding how border crossing experiences are associated with symptoms of mental distress. This qualitative study examines this topic by exploring the following research question: How do social workers describe the mental health challenges of unaccompanied children in the context of US border crossings?

Methods:

This study used a mini ethnographic case study design, with analysis of two types of qualitative data. First, the researcher analyzed field notes based on two weeks of in-depth ethnographic observation of the US-Mexico border crossing in El Paso, TX and Juárez, Mexico in June 2023. Second, the researcher analyzed in-depth interviews with social workers (n=5) who had direct practice experience with unaccompanied children in border locations. Thematic analysis framework guided two cycles of coding both the field notes and in-depth interviews. During the first cycle, descriptive, in-vivo, and process codes were used to analyze data in the field notes and in-depth interviews. The second cycle of coding used code mapping to explore themes within the field notes and in-depth interviews.

Results:

Each participant worked in direct care of unaccompanied children, mainly in shelter locations and detention centers at or near the US/Mexico border. Analysis of field notes and in-depth interviews revealed two key themes related to unaccompanied children’s mental health in the context of border crossings. First, the border crossing experience magnifies loss and uncertainty for unaccompanied children. One participant explained: “They had so many losses, their culture, their family, their freedom.” Placement in shelter settings also intensifies uncertainty, as a participant explained: “Even though they're good shelters or secure placement, these minors don't know what's going on.” The second theme is the shelter placement process magnifies complex trauma-related symptoms. Participants routinely described excessive sleep, decreased appetite, hopelessness, hypervigilance, and self-injurious behavior as symptoms that unaccompanied children experienced in shelter settings. These symptoms are also complicated by uncertainty, as a participant explained: “Since they realize that their plan is not as easy, they become more depressive. They start to despair.”

Conclusions and Implications:

The results shed light on the impact the physical border wall has on the health and wellbeing of unaccompanied children. The border-to-shelter process that unaccompanied children experience magnifies the loss of culture and family relationships they had prior to migration, and amplifies uncertainty as expectations clash with the realities of immigration policy. The results shed light on how community-based research can inform practices and policy reform that aim to meet the needs of unaccompanied children in the US.