Youth Speak Out About the Mental Health Impacts of Immigration Policies, 1/30-2/6

Yanelli Hernandez

By: Naomi Beyeler

This week marked the first annual Undocumented Youth Mental Health Day – called by the National Immigrant Youth Alliance (NIYA) to raise awareness about the mental health impacts of our immigration system. In selecting January 31 as Undocumented Mental Health Day, NIYA drew attention to the deportation case of 22-year old Yanelli Hernandez. Yanelli lived and attended school in the US since she was 13. Separated from her family and facing deportation, Yanelli twice attempted suicide while in detention. She was deported on February 1. While stories about Yanelli or Joaquin Luna only occasionally reach mainstream media, the fact is that undocumented youth face high rates of stress, anxiety and depression – often resulting from the insecurity and fear, family separation, limited educational and job opportunities, and discrimination that accompany our immigration and deportation system.