Immigration to Oakland

Immigration In Oakland

Did you know, deported Immigrants can have very serious psychological damage and trauma. Nearly 4 in 5 are scared of being forced to live in the countries they migrated from because of the dangerousness and violence(Ashmeet Kaur Oberoi et al.). Important terms to know to understand are, Psychological Damage: Damage to the mental and emotional state of a person. Trauma: An experience so disturbing and horrifying they remember it for a long time. Deportation: Kicking someone out of a country who was not born in that country, to abduct them out of the country. ICE stands for Immigration Customs Enforcement, responsible for immigration enforcement(ice.gov). Based on the research, ICE and deportations do not help the country but only negatively impact immigrants because they cause psychological damage and separates families.

ICE and deportations negatively impact immigrants because they cause a lot of psychological damage. To begin, In the article titled, “The Effects of Deportation on Families and Communities” by Ashmeet Kaur Oberoi and others discuss about the psychological damage that occurs during deportation. Also, the article talks about how the people who are left behind are affected and their psychological damage. The authors explain, “Nearly 4 in 5 families screened in family detention centers have a “credible fear” of persecution should they be forced to return to the countries from which they migrated (US Citizenship and Immigration Services, 2016). Many of those deported are forced to return to dangerous, turbulent environments, and deportations have resulted in kidnapping, torture, rape, and murder (Stillman, 2018). Deported individuals often find it challenging to support their families, and coupled with the trauma and stigma of the deportation, may find it difficult to maintain contact with family members”(Ashmeet Kaur Oberoi et al.).  4 in 5 families have real fear to return back to their countries because of what waits for them in the country they migrated from. They should not be forced to return back to the country they migrated from because the conditions are unlivable. They have to live everyday with the fear for their lives because they don’t know if they will live to see the next day. As a result of the deportations, many people have been killed and tortured because of them and have had their lives ruined. Families have been ruined as a result because many deportees go through a lot of mental and emotional damage. Which makes it harder for them to be up to date with their families because they are going through a very tough time in their life.

 Secondly,  In the article titled, “The Effects of Deportation on Families and Communities” by Ashmeet Kaur Oberoi and others discuss about the psychological damage that occurs during deportation. Also, the article talks about how the people who are left behind are affected and their psychological damage. The authors explain, “Family members left behind suffer multiple psychosocial consequences. Separation of a child from a parent due to deportation is associated with economic hardship, housing instability, and food insecurity (Capps et al., 2015; Chaudhary et al., 2010; Dreby, 2012).”(Ashmeet Kaur Oberoi et al.). Deportations does not only affect the people who have gotten deported, but also the family that is left behind in the U.S. The people who are left behind will have to grow up with a single parent. They will have to live financially unstable and will need to live with a lot of government help. They will not have one permanent home and will have to move constantly. They will be hit with food insecurity, this means they will live in a place that is not close to a supermarket. They will not have easy access to healthy foods. This is not the lifestyle anyone wants to live, It is not a healthy lifestyle.

Thirdly, when I interviewed Melecio Cox, an Oakland resident, about immigrating from Guatemala to Oakland, He stated that when he was going through Mexico he saw many beatings, robbing and injuries(Cox). On his way to the United States he witnessed many events that could have caused him to have trauma. Witnessing all those horrific events could have made him think and fear and ask himself, “What if that was me?”. This sort of guilt could haunt him and make him fear those events for the rest of his life. During the interview, I asked the question, “Did you ever live with fear in the U.S?”. With which he responded, yes I used to always live with fear. I used to fear being in the wrong place at the wrong time and being caught by ICE. I feared going back to Guatemala and once again living in poverty I tried to escape(Cox). Melecio had to live day by day with the foreboding feeling of being deported back to Guatemala and being forced to live in the destitution he had to grow up in, inadequate money and food. Before he got his papers, when he first arrived to the country, everyday he never knew if he was going to make it back home or be deported. Living with this fear for a very long time can have its effects on a person.

ICE and deportations negatively impact immigrants because they seperate families. In the article, “Deported Oakland nurse wins H-1B visa lottery, will return to U.S.” by Tatiana Sanchez the article talks about the story of how a nurse was deported back to Mexico and how she was able to return back to the country. Tatiana Sanchez explains, “Maria Mendoza-Sanchez, 47, and her husband, Eusebio, became the focal point of a national immigration debate last year when they were deported amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration. The undocumented couple had steady jobs, no criminal records and three children who had been born in the U.S.Mendoza-Sanchez had to abandon her job as a registered nurse at Highland Hospital in Oakland, where she cared for patients with cancer, heart and kidney disease for two years.”(Tatiana Sanchez). Even though she was a mother with 3 children, ICE did not care that she will be separated from her children. This connects back to the first claim because the children could have gone through trauma when they were separated from both of their parents. They could have been living with foster parents that they don’t know. They will have to live with the fear of what if their parents get deported again. Maria could’ve had been dismal and emphatic about how much she missed her children. Maria was not a criminal, to contradict, Maria saved people’s lives and is innocuous. She was a nurse at Highland Hospital in Oakland, California. Her main job is to help people with cancer, heart and kidney disease. She got separated from her family simply because she was not born here. She was one of the few lucky people to get a Visa to return back to the country. Many immigrant families are not as fortunate as hers and don’t get the chance to return back to the country.

To conclude, Deportations do not help the country because they only cause emotional damage, mental damage and trauma to Immigrants. Maria and her children could’ve been traumatized when they were separated because they would have felt alone knowing both of their parents are in a different country. Almost all families that are in detention centers are terrified of being deported back to the countries they came from. If this country is really worried about people’s safety it should not make policies to put people in further danger and traumatic situations. Instead, ICE should only deport criminals who are a threat to our society and not hard workers who only want a better life for them and their families.

Annotated Bibliography 

Cox, Melecio. “Immigration to Oakland.” 29 Nov. 2019.

This interview was about Melecio’s experience on immigrating to Oakland. He explains many of the events he witnessed on his way to the border. He has seen people getting beaten up, bleeding, and very badly injured. Melecio Cox is an Oakland community member. Originally from Guatemala, he immigrated to the U.S for a better life. He experienced immigrating first hand.

Oberoi, Ashmeet Kaur. “The Effects of Deportation on Families and Communities.” Community Psychology: Social Justice Through Collaborative Research and Action, Community Psychology, www.communitypsychology.com/effects-of-deportation-on-families-communities/.

The article discusses about the psychological damage that occurs during deportation. Also it talks about what issues of the people who are left behind have to face. Also, about the trauma and what causes their trauma. This source is credible because it came as a group effort. All the people who worked on this article have ties to a University. So of the people who worked on this are not even from the U.S, so they got more of a story from a different perspective. I trust this source because they can all   revise each others work so no one makes mistakes.

Sanchez, Tatiana. “Deported Oakland Nurse Wins H-1B Visa Lottery, Will Return to U.S.” The Mercury News, The Mercury News, 1 Dec. 2018, www.mercurynews.com/2018/11/30/oakland-cancer-nurse-deported-to-mexico-has-a-chance-to-return-to-u-s/.This article discusses on how a nurse got deported back to Mexico but she got to return to the U.S. This Article discusses the story she had to trough. It Also talks about her job as a nurse in an Oakland Hospital. This article is credible because it was published in 2018, which means it is still fairly recent. Also, it comes from a journalist that writes for The Mercury News, a credible news source. I know this source is true because many other news sources have covered the same story and the important ideas are the same.

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