Living "in the shadows" for fear of arrest is taking a toll on the mental health of migrants in the United States and their children, as Donald Trump has promised "the largest mass deportation operation in history."
"It made me extremely anxious," Alejandro Florez, a 26-year-old Venezuelan who arrived in the country in 2016, told AFP.
Since the Republican billionaire's inauguration, "I've been sleeping three or four hours a night," he says.
After campaigning with particularly violent rhetoric against illegal immigrants, Donald Trump began his second term with a series of decrees intended to stem their influx into the United States.
A nightmare for many foreigners, like Alejandro Florez.
"I can't go back to Venezuela. If I go back, they'll put me in jail or kill me for protesting against the dictatorship," says the young man, who requested asylum in the United States seven years ago and is granted temporary protection.
Migrants spend a large part of their lives in "uncertainty and instability," migration psychologist Susanna Francies told AFP.
"Many of them are suffering from trauma" and "if they feel like they have to stay in the shadows or can't reveal their migration status, it will be more difficult for them to access mental health treatment," she adds.
- Panic -
Migrant advocacy groups fear that Trump's threats will trigger panic and cause migrants to hide for fear of police raids.
When they happen at home, they can be traumatic for children, "because they happen late at night, while they're sleeping, with armed agents storming into their home to take their parents away," said Wendy Cervantes, an immigration officer at the Center for Law and Social Policy, a Washington-based organization.
She is also concerned about the consequences of separation for families.
"When a parent is deported, the children left behind suffer poor physical and mental health, poor educational outcomes, and food and housing insecurity," and this "can last for years," she says.
Research conducted by her organization has shown that "the mere threat of separation can harm children's development," she said.
During Donald Trump's first term, between 2017 and 2021, thousands of migrant children were separated from their parents in detention. Many others were themselves detained in camps.
– Lasting consequences » –
"I have met children who have been separated from their parents at the border" with Mexico "and this has lasting consequences," adds Susanna Francies.
The person in charge of Donald Trump's policy of mass expulsions of illegal immigrants, Tom Homan, has not ruled out the idea of detaining migrant families in centers set up for this purpose, a practice that was in place during the Republican's first term before being abandoned by Joe Biden.
Five million American children have at least one parent in an illegal status.
Mr. Homan said migrants will have the choice of leaving their U.S.-born children behind or being deported with them.
And he did not rule out making arrests in schools or churches on Sunday.
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