Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

“My Life was Filled with Constant Anxiety”: Anti-Immigrant Discrimination, Undocumented Status, and Their Mental Health Implications for Brazilian Immigrants

  • Published:
Race and Social Problems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Immigration reform and the various costs associated with undocumented immigration have been in national headlines in the past few years. The growth of Latinos as the US’ largest ethno-racial minority has sparked debates about the “browning” of the United States and led to an increase in anti-immigrant discrimination. While some researchers have documented the effects of racial discrimination on the mental health of ethno-racial minorities in the United States, less has explored how anti-immigrant discrimination and undocumented status influence the mental and psychological well-being of Latino immigrants, more specifically Brazilian immigrants, in the United States. Relying on data from in-depth interviews conducted with 49 Brazilian return migrants who immigrated to the United States and subsequently returned to Brazil, this paper will examine how their experiences living as racialized and primarily undocumented immigrants in the United States influenced their mental health. Specifically, I demonstrate that respondents experienced ethno-racial and anti-immigrant discrimination and endured various challenges that had negative implications for their mental health. This paper will also discuss additional factors that researchers should take into account when examining immigrants’ mental health and the challenges immigrants encounter in a racialized society with increasing anti-immigrant sentiment.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Though many Brazilian immigrants self-classify as white due to Brazilian standards of white racial classification, they are generally externally perceived as nonwhite and Hispanic by Americans (Margolis 1994; Martes 2007; Joseph forthcoming).

  2. Due to the devaluing of the US Dollar and more stringent policies for obtaining visas to the US, Valadarenses are also now migrating to Portugal, Spain, Italy, and New Zealand (Siqueira 2009).

  3. While the data was collected in 2007 and 2008, respondents provided retrospective accounts of their experiences before, during, and after the US migration. Retrospective reporting is a limitation of the study. However, it is common in social scientific research and understood that participants’ memories of events may degrade over time (Trivellato 1999; Wellman 2007). In analyzing, interpreting, and reporting the results, I was very attentive to concerns about retrospective reporting among respondents.

  4. Individuals who enter the US with tourist visas are not permitted to work with those visas.

  5. I used NVivo’s matrix function to explore potential differences based on these demographic differences and found none.

  6. Though the US Census asks individuals of Hispanic origin to classify ethnically as Hispanic and also racially (e.g. black, white), I combined the categories “Hispanic/Latino” in the question about categorical racial classification in the US since: (1) literature on Brazilian immigrants indicates that they have exposure to both terms in the US and (2) some returnees used the terms interchangeably during pre-test interviews (Martes 2007).

  7. There were two open-ended questions that directly asked participants about discrimination in the US. The first was “did you at any time experience what would be considered racism in the US?” The second question was “at any time in your social relationships, have you felt discriminated against in the US or Brazil? If so, do you think you were discriminated against because of your race or skin color?” I reviewed each respondent’s answers to these questions to calculate the percentage of return migrants who experienced discrimination and what type of discrimination respondents experienced in the US.

  8. A larger percentage of respondents who self-classified as black reported experiencing discrimination relative to those in other racial categories because far fewer respondents self-classified as black (N = 4).

  9. Each quote was translated from Brazilian Portuguese and includes the respondent’s pseudonym, self-ascribed racial classification when the interview occurred, age, and state of residence while living in the US.

  10. The remaining 10% (N = 5/49) provided responses to this question that could not be described as neither positive nor negative.

  11. While some of the words and behavior of respondents could be indicative of standardized symptoms in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), respondents did not report being clinically diagnosed with any mental disorders or seeking professional treatment while living in the US or after returning to Brazil.

  12. The other primary reasons for returning: (1) documentation status concerns, or fears of or actual deportation: 25% (N = 11); (2) family reasons: 57% (N = 28); and (3) miscellaneous reasons: 12% (N = 6).

  13. The data does not indicate or suggest whether or not returnees’ mental states changed after returning home and/or if any of them sought assistance or treatment from mental health professionals.

  14. The research on permanent return migration for other ethnic groups in the US is very limited although a few studies have been conducted on West Indians and Asian Pacific Islanders (Conway and Potter 2006; Plaza and Henry 2006; Iredale et al. 2003). However, these studies have not explicitly examined return migrants’ mental health.

References

  • Alegria, M., & McGuire, T. (2003). Rethinking a universal framework in the psychiatric symptom-disorder relationship. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 44(3), 257–274.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alegria, M., Mulvaney-Day, N., Torres, M., Polo, A., Zhun, C., & Canino, G. (2007). Prevalence of psychiatric disorders across Latino subgroups in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 97(1), 68–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Araujo, B. (2004). Study of discriminatory stress and stress among Dominican immigrant women. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

  • Araujo, B., & Borrell, L. N. (2006). Understanding the link between discrimination, mental health outcomes, and life chances among Latinos. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 28(2), 245–266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ayón, C., Marsiglia, F., & Bermudez-Parsai, M. (2010). Latino family mental health: Exploring the role of discrimination and familismo. Journal of Community Psychology, 38, 742–756.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berkman, L. F., Glass, T., Brissette, I., & Seeman, T. E. (2000). From social integration to health: Durkheim in the new millennium. Social Science and Medicine, 51, 843–857.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brummett, B. H., Barefoot, J. C., Siegler, I. C., Clapp-Channing, N. E., Lytle, B. L., Bosworth, H. B., et al. (2001). Characteristics of socially isolated patients with coronary artery disease who are at elevated risk for mortality. Psychosomatic Medicine, 63, 267–272.

    Google Scholar 

  • Centro de Informação, Apoio e Amparo à Família e ao Trabalhador no Exterior. (2007). Um Estudo sobre a Imigração em Governador Valadares. Brazil: Governador Valadares.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cislo, A. M., Spence, N. J., & Gayman, M. D. (2010). The mental health and psychosocial adjustment of Cuban immigrants in south Florida. Social Science and Medicine, 71, 1173–1181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, S., & Wills, T. (1985). Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin, 98, 310–357.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Conway, D., & Potter, R. B. (2006). Caribbean transnational return migrants as agents of change. Geography Compass, 1, 1–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, J. (1991). Who is Black? One nation’s definition. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeBiaggi, S. D. D. (2002). Changing gender roles: Brazilian immigrant families in the US. El Paso, TX: LFB Publishing LLC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Emerson, R. M., Fretz, R. I., & Shaw, L. L. (1995). Writing ethnographic fieldnotes. Chicago: University of Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  • Espino, R., & Franz, M. M. (2002). Latino phenotypic discrimination revisited: The impact of skin color on occupational status. Social Science Quarterly, 83, 612–624.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feagin, J. (2000). Racist America: Roots, current realities, and future reparations. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Finch, B. K., Kolody, B., & Vega, W. (2000). Perceived discrimination and depression among Mexican-origin adults in California. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 41(3), 295–313.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Finch, B. K., & Vega, W. A. (2003). Acculturation stress, social support, and self-rated health among Latinos in California. Journal of Immigrant Health, 5, 109–117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flores, E., Tschann, J. M., Dimas, J. M., Bachen, E. A., & deGroat, C. L. (2008). Perceived discrimination, perceived stress, and mental health and physical health among mexican-origin adults. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 30(4), 401–424.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fox, J. (2005). Unpacking ‘transnational citizenship’. Annual Review of Political Science, 8, 171–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gomez, C. (2000). The continual significance of skin color: An exploratory study of Latinos in the Northeast. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 22, 94–103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goza, F. (1999). Immigrant social networks: The Brazilian case. (http://iussp2005.princeton.edu/download.aspx?submissionId=50570).

  • Holt, J., Gee, G. C., Ryan, A., & Laflamme, D. J. (2006). Self-reported discrimination and mental health status among African descendants, Mexican Americans, and other Latinos in the New Hampshire REACH 2010 initiative: The added dimension of immigration. American Journal of Public Health, 96(10), 1821–1828.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huber, L. P., Lopez, C. B., Malagon, M. C., Velez, V., & Solorzano, D. G. (2008). Getting beyond the ‘symptom’, acknowledging the ‘disease’: Theorizing racist nativism. Contemporary Justice Review, 11, 39–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iredale, R., Guo, F., & Rozario, S. (Eds.). (2003). Return migration in the Asia Pacific. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited.

    Google Scholar 

  • Itzigsohn, J., & Saucedo, S. G. (2002). Immigrant incorporation and sociocultural transnationalism. International Migration Review, 36, 766–798.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jared, C. (2002). Troubled by newcomers: Anti-immigrant attitudes and actions during two eras of mass migration. In P. G. Min (Ed.), Mass migrations to the United States: Classical and contemporary periods. Walnut Creek, MD: Altamira Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jonas, S. (2006). Reflections on the great immigration battle of 2006 and the future of the Americas. Social Justice, 33, 6–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Joseph, T. D. (forthcoming). Latino or Hispanic: The dilemma of ethno-racial classification for Brazilian immigrants in the US. In J. Capetillo-Ponce, G. Jacobs & P. Kretsedemas (Eds.), The discourse and politics of immigration in the global north. New York: Routledge.

  • Jouet-Pastre, C., & Braga, L. J. (Eds.). (2008). Becoming Brazuca: Brazilian immigration to the United States. Cambridge: Harvard University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kessler, R. C., & McLeod, J. D. (1985). Social support and mental health in community samples. In S. Cohen & S. L. Syme (Eds.), Social support and health (pp. 219–240). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leavy, R. L. (1983). Social support and psychological disorder: A review. Journal of Community Psychology, 11, 3–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levitt, P. (2007). God needs no passport: How migrants are transforming the American religious landscape. New York: New Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Magaña, C. D., & Hovey, J. D. (2003). Psychosocial stressors associated with Mexican migrant farm workers in the Midwest United States. Journal of Immigrant Health, 5, 75–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marcus, A. P. (2009). Brazilian immigration to the United States and the geographical imagination. Geographical Review, 99, 481–498.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Margolis, M. L. (1994). Little Brazil: An ethnography of Brazilian immigrants in New York City. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Margolis, M. L. (1998). An invisible minority: Brazilians in New York City. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marrow, H. (2003). To be or not to be (Hispanic or Latino): Brazilian racial and ethnic identity in the United States. Ethnicities, 3, 427–464.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martes, A. C. B. (2000). Brasileiros nos Estados Unidos: Um Estudo Sobre Imigrantes em Massachusetts. São Paulo, Brasil: Paz e Terra.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martes, A. C. B. (2007). Neither Hispanic, nor Black: We’re Brazilian. In J. L. Falconi & J. A. Mazzotti (Eds.), The other Latinos: Central and South Americans in the United States (pp. 231–256). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martes, A. C. B. (2008). The commitment of return: Remittances of Brazilian Emigrés. In C. Jouet-Pastre & L. J. Braga (Eds.), Becoming Brazuca: Brazilian immigration to the United States (pp. 125–150). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Massey, D. S. (2009). Racial formation in theory and practice: The case of Mexicans in the United States. Race and Social Problems, 1, 12–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moradi, B., & Risco, C. (2006). Perceived discrimination experiences and mental health of Latina/o American persons. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53(4), 411–421.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MRE [Ministério de Relações Exteriores (Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs)]. (2008). Estimativas de Brasileiros no mundo [Estimates of Brazilians throughout the world]. Accessed Online October 7, 2010, https://gestao.abe.mre.gov.br/mundo/…/Brasileiros%20no%20Mundo%20-%20Estimativas.pdf.

  • Nicklett, E. J., & Burgard, S. A. (2009). Downward social mobility and major depressive episodes among Latino and Asian-American immigrants to the United States. American Journal of Epidemiology, 170(6), 793–801.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pedraza, S. (2005). Assimilation or transnationalism? Conceptual models of the immigrant experience. In R. Mahalingham (Ed.), Cultural psychology of immigrants. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Plaza, D. E., & Henry, F. (2006). Returning to the source: The final stage of the Caribbean migration circuit. Mona, Jamaica: University of West Indies Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pulido, L. (2007). A day without immigrants: The racial and class politics of immigrant exclusion. Antipode, 39, 1–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rubio-Goldsmith, P. R., Romero, M., Rubio-Goldsmith, R., Escobedo, M., & Khoury, L. (2009). Ethno-racial profiling and state violence in a Southwest barrio. Aztlán, 34, 93–123.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sales, T. (1999). Brasileiros Longe De Casa. Sao Paulo, Brazil: Cortez Editora Ltda.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sellers, R. M., & Shelton, J. N. (2003). The role of racial identity in perceived racial discrimination. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 1079–1092.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Siqueira, S. (2007). O sonho frustrado e o sonho realizado: as duas faces da migração para os EUA. Revista Nuevo Mundo Mundos Nuevo.

  • Siqueira, S. (2009). Sonhos, Successo, e Frustações na Emigração de Retorno: Brasil/Estados Unidos. Belo Horizonte, Brazil: Argvmentvm Editora.

    Google Scholar 

  • Siqueira, C. E., & Jansen, T. (2008). Updating demographic, geographic, and occupational data on Brazilians in Massachusetts. In C. Jouet-Pastre & L. J. Braga (Eds.), Becoming Brazuca: Brazilian immigration to the United States (pp. 105–124). Cambridge: Harvard University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stuber, J., Galea, S., Ahern, J., Blaney, S., & Fuller, S. (2003). The association between multiple domains of discrimination and self assessed health: A multilevel analysis of Latinos and Blacks in four low-income New York City neighborhoods. Health Services Research, 38(2), 1735–1755.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Takeuchi, D. T., Zane, N., Hong, S., Chae, D. H., Gong, F., Gee, G. C., et al. (2007). Immigration-related factors and mental disorders among Asian Americans. American Journal of Public Health, 97(1), 84–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Telles, E. E. (2004). Race in another America: The significance of skin color in Brazil. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trivellato, U. (1999). Issues in the design and analysis of panel studies: A cursory review. Quality & Quantity, 33, 339–352.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uchino, Bert. N. (2009). Understanding the links between social support and physical health: A life-span perspective with emphasis on the separability of perceived and received support. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 4, 236–255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wellman, B. (2007). Challenges in collecting personal network data: The nature of personal network analysis. Field Methods, 19, 111–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, D. R. (2000). Racism and mental health: The African American experience. Ethnicity and Disease, 5(3/4), 243–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, D. R., Neighbors, H. W., & Jackson, J. S. (2003). Racial/Ethnic discrimination and health: Findings from community studies. American Journal of Public Health, 93(2), 200–208.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, D. R., Haile, R., Gonzalez, H. M., Neighbors, H., Baser, R., & Jackson, J. S. (2007). The mental health of black Caribbean immigrants: Results from the national survey of American life. American Journal of Public Health, 97(1), 52–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The author acknowledges James Jackson, Alford Young, Jr., Sarah Burgard, James House, the National Science Foundation Dissertation Improvement Grant Program, Institute of International Education Fulbright Student Grant Program, Ford Foundation Diversity Predoctoral Fellowship Program, Woodrow Wilson Foundation, and the Social Science Research Council. She also to thank the reviewers for their comments on earlier versions of the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Scholar, Harvard University, 1730 Cambridge Street, S412, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA

    Tiffany D. Joseph

Authors
  1. Tiffany D. Joseph
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tiffany D. Joseph.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Joseph, T.D. “My Life was Filled with Constant Anxiety”: Anti-Immigrant Discrimination, Undocumented Status, and Their Mental Health Implications for Brazilian Immigrants. Race Soc Probl 3, 170–181 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12552-011-9054-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12552-011-9054-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation