Key points

Restrictive immigration policies increase anxiety, depression, and deportation fear in immigrant communities.

Fear of detention and stigma often prevents immigrants from seeking needed mental health services.

Psychologists can mitigate harms by providing accessible, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive care.

By Srishti Katuri, MA, and Cynthia J. Najdowski, PhD, University at Albany.

On March 15, 2025, President Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act—historically employed only during wartime—so that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) could immediately remove Venezuelan citizens alleged to be terrorists from the United States. That same day, ICE deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador’s Center of Terrorism Confinement, claiming he belonged to

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