How migration reform amplifies fear and anxiety

“We long to have again the vanished past, in spite of all its pain.” — Sophocles
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There is a wide range of emotions associated with migration. Even in smooth processes, leaving the place a person used to call home is often associated with feelings of nostalgia, loneliness, and anxiety for the uncertainties that follow through: from the waiting for an approval process of a residence permit to the ups and downs of the economy and the job market that affects the community regardless of one's migration status.  

Some cases are more acute than others. Starting a new life after living a traumatic experience gives people emotional baggage, they have to process even years after migrating.  Cultural differences can also be an obstacle for people to open up to their families and acquaintances which are the first emotional support network individuals have.  Finding a health professional who understands the particularities of post-traumatic depression in the context of migration can be difficult and could be an additional economic burden for migrants.  Furthermore, despite the increasing awareness regarding mental health, there is still a stigma rooted in gender norms and expectations.  Asking for professional help is still frowned upon and seen as a taboo subject in particular for men.     

​For many people, there always be a nostalgia for the place and people they left.  This type of emotional pain and mourning can be treated and understood.  It is possible to learn to deal with some of the effects of the post-traumatic disorder.  

However, we cannot discount the negative impact on mental health that migration reforms can have on the people affected.  Anti-immigrant reforms usually assess the migration phenomena as a statistical problem, a number that must be reduced.  This framing overlooks the human aspect of migration.  Increasing the requirements to reunite with their families and have a resident status makes the lives of migrants and their relatives more precarious and is an ongoing source of anxiety.

This has been observed in different countries.  For instance, a study from 2021 (Pinedo et al: 2021) related to Latino migrants in the United States observed that policies that focus on reducing immigration increased stress in migrants. Participants shared intense feelings of persecution and of not being welcomed in their communities.  For the family members of a migrant, going through a deportation process is a traumatic experience and a source of psychological distress and depression. 
These conclusions could be extrapolated to the government proposal that makes it more challenging to obtain international protection, refugee status, or residence permit and increases the residence period requirement from 5 to 8 years to apply for Finnish citizenship.  The current proposal sees migration as a threat rather than an opportunity and presumes that applicants abuse the system in bad faith.  This assessment also ignores the human side of migration and the psychological impact that draconian measures have on migrants and their families on both sides of the border.  As a society, we should not ignore these concerns as a matter of health and wellbeing.

Written by: Álvaro Augusto Sanabria-Rangel