Mental health takes a hit as fears over immigration enforcement spread through Delaware’s Latino communities

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Across the U.S., shifting immigration policies and anti-immigrant rhetoric have triggered a wave of fear within Latino communities. Even in places like Delaware, far from the southern border, immigrant families say they’re making changes to their daily lives — avoiding public spaces, skipping work when possible and sending their children to run errands instead of going out themselves.

The fear doesn’t always stem from personal risk of deportation. It stems from proximity — to undocumented loved ones and vulnerable neighbors — or simply the idea that someone could be next.

This growing sense of unease brought Latinos together at a recent event hosted as part of WHYY’s Primer Estado, an effort to focus on Delaware’s Spanish-speaking community in partnership with Hoy en Delaware. The discussion at WHYY’s Wilmington newsroom, titled “Plática Comunitaria: Salud Mental en Medio de las Campañas Migratorias,” focused on the mental health toll of these uncertain times and offered guidance on how families — especially Latino families — can care for themselves and one another.

Moderated by Hoy en Delaware’s Virginia Esteban, the event featured two experts: Franssy Zablah, an assistant professor and director of the Institute for Community Mental Health at the University of Delaware, and María Aguilar, a licensed therapist specializing in trauma and attachment wounds.

“Estamos en un momento especialmente inquietante para nuestra comunidad, que genera y despierta una serie de sensaciones, de sentimientos y de padecimientos”, dijo Esteban.

“We are in a particularly unsettling time for our community, one that generates and awakens a range of sensations, feelings and suffering,” Esteban said.

Aguilar described the emotional toll her clients are facing, especially women, children and survivors of domestic violence, with many avoiding parks or community events, not asking for help and avoiding contacting authorities that might expose their status.

“Por bombardeo de información o información falsa, todo esto está creando mucha confusión, mucho miedo, mucha ansiedad y pues conlleva al estrés crónico. Mucha gente se está aislando, ya no quiere acudir a servicios”, dijo Aguilar. “Por ejemplo, personas que son víctimas de crimen o de violencia doméstica que antes les ofrecía los servicios y iban y levantaban una orden de alejamiento. Y pues ahora no, ahora lo están pensando, incluso dicen, ‘no, nada que tenga que ver con policía, con denuncia.’”

“Due to the bombardment of information or false information, all of this is creating a lot of confusion, a lot of fear, a lot of anxiety, and it leads to chronic stress. Many people are isolating themselves; they no longer want to seek services,” Aguilar said. “For example, people who are victims of crime or domestic violence, who were previously offered services, would go and lift a restraining order. And now they’re not. Now they’re thinking about it, even saying, ‘No, nothing that has to do with the police, with reporting them.’”

Many families, she added, are shrinking their day-to-day lives out of fear, including staying home unless absolutely necessary or removing themselves from public systems that might expose their status.

“Y pues eso es un gran problema … puede de alguna manera el estar aguantando en una situación ya peligrosa de por sí que degenere en algo mucho peor”, ella dijo.

“And that’s a big problem …  somehow, by enduring an already dangerous situation, it degenerates into something much worse,” she said.

Impact on children and families

Both Aguilar and Zablah warned that these conditions can deeply affect children. Many are being asked to act as interpreters, mediators or caretakers — roles that can lead to long-term emotional damage.

“Niños de papás inmigrante que tomaban más responsabilidades — traducir o llama aquí, llama allá — ahora es exponencialmente mayor,” Aguilar dijo. “Y pues también les está dañando a los niños y adolescentes … tomar esas responsabilidades que no les pertenecen a ellos.”

“Children of immigrant parents who take on more responsibilities — translating or calling here, calling there — are now exponentially taking more,” Aguilar said. “And it’s also harming children and adolescents … taking on those responsibilities that aren’t theirs.”

Zablah added that even children in mixed-status or fully documented households can absorb the tension around them.

“Los niños y los adolescentes tienen un olfato para reconocer las emociones de los adultos y los cuidadores que los rodean”, añadió Zablah. “Entonces el negar la emoción que sentimos en ese momento, la preocupación, la tristeza, la ansiedad, el miedo, no es bueno para los niños porque entonces les estamos enseñando a reprimir esas emociones versus a enfrentarla de una manera apropiada, a poder hablar acerca de las emociones y hablar de la realidad que ‘tengo miedo porque algo malo puede pasar.’”

“Children and adolescents have a sense for recognizing the emotions of the adults and caregivers around them,” Zablah added. “So denying the emotion we’re feeling at that moment — worry, sadness, anxiety, fear — isn’t good for children because we’re teaching them to repress those emotions instead of dealing with them appropriately, being able to talk about emotions and the reality that, ‘I’m afraid something bad might happen.’”

Why many immigrants stay silent about their mental health

Even as the emotional toll of immigration crackdowns becomes more visible, many Latino immigrants still avoid seeking mental health care — not because they aren’t struggling, but because stigma, cultural beliefs and faith often lead them to stay silent.

Rather than seek therapy, people often misinterpret emotional pain as physical illness, showing up with headaches, chest pressure or insomnia that has no clear medical cause.

“Lo que vemos muchísimo en los estudios científicos es que la comunidad latina es muy propensa a somatizar sus síntomas”, ella explicó. “tenemos muchísimos síntomas físicos que creemos que son de origen médico, pero que al final de cuentas son de un origen socioemocional. Entonces, ¿qué pasa? Los dolores de estómago, las dificultades con la digestión, las migrañas, el insomnio.”

“What we see a lot in scientific studies is that the Latino community is very prone to somatizing their symptoms,” she explained. “We have a lot of physical symptoms that we think are medical in origin, but ultimately have a socio-emotional origin. So what happens? Stomach pains, digestive difficulties, migraines, insomnia.”

Faith also plays a large role in how people cope, offering hope and comfort for some but sometimes delaying professional intervention.

“La comunidad latina es una comunidad que es bastante religiosa”, ella dijo. “Y sí vemos que la religiosidad, la espiritualidad, la fe … trae muchísimo confort, trae muchísima esperanza de que las cosas van a mejorar.”

“The Latino community is a very religious community,” she said. “And we do see that religiosity, spirituality, faith … brings a lot of comfort, a lot of hope that things will get better.”

A path toward healing

The panelists offered practical advice for how families can care for themselves amid the stress such as walking, limiting news consumption, spending quality time together and practicing mindfulness. But they also emphasized the need for therapy, especially when stress becomes overwhelming.

“Ir a terapia … puede ser muy gratificante y que de verdad puede cambiar y salvar vidas,” Zablah said. “Cuando nosotros ya hemos agotado esas maneras de afrontamiento internas … ahí es muy importante buscar ayuda profesional.”

“Going to therapy … can be very rewarding and truly life-changing and life-saving,” Zablah said. “When we’ve exhausted those internal coping methods … that’s when it’s very important to seek professional help.”

She closed with a simple mental exercise to write down what things you are thankful for, eating healthier, practicing breathing exercises and to go out and enjoy community and family.