Thursday, November 2, 2017

Time to Go Home

Sometimes the facts speak for themselves. Sometimes they don’t. This time they do.

The facts are these: a high percentage—that would be 23%-- of illegal Mexican immigrants suffers from mental health disorders.

Daniel Steingold reports on the Studyfinds site:

Undocumented Mexican immigrants living near the California-Mexico border experience increased rates of clinical depression and anxiety, a new study finds.

Researchers at Rice University examined the incidence of mental illnesses and substance abuse among 250 individuals within this stressed population, finding that 23 percent met the DSM’s criteria for having a mental disorder.

 Fourteen percent of the study’s participants were found to have major depressive disorder (MDD), while eight and seven percent had panic or generalized anxiety disorders, respectively.

Some were determined to have suffered from multiple conditions concurrently.

“The estimates obtained in this study for depression and anxiety disorders were considerably higher in this population when compared with estimates for the general U.S. population,” says lead author Luz Garcini in a university news release.

As it happens, the researchers point out, these illegal immigrants are unlikely to be engaged in drug abuse. The study does not point out how many addictive drugs they and their campadres bring into American through the porous Southern border.

What are the causes of these mental health problems? The research identifies them:

The researchers believe that a number of stressors, including stigmatization, language barriers, fear of deportation, family separation, and discrimination, are culprits for the deteriorated mental health of many migrants.

Compounding matters, undocumented individuals rarely have access to adequate mental health services, the researchers say.

“Additional research and funding are needed to document the devastating effects of the current socio-political context on the mental health of immigrants living in the U.S. without documentation, which is needed to inform advocacy, policy and intervention efforts,” Garcini concludes.

Naturally, the study blames it all on the Trump administration. And it wants these illegal immigrants to have access to better mental health care. It assumes, incorrectly, that mental health care is a panacea for social dislocation. It does not explain why American taxpayers should foot the bill for life choices made by people who are here illegally.

The obvious point is so obvious that we are all thinking it. We know exactly how these illegal immigrants can solve all of their mental health problems, without costing the American taxpayer a dime and without taxing the empathy quotient of today’s mental health professionals.

They could go home!

6 comments:

  1. They could go home?? Why, you must be RAAAAACIST to even THINK such a thing, even though it is a logical response. and one I agree with.

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  2. It is hopeful that most are smart enough to stay away from illegal drugs.

    I think the missing portion of this otherwise excellent advice is they are sacrificing their own happiness on the hope that their children will have a better life.

    And I can't say I know any illegals here, but of the immigrants I've talked to, from engineering professionals to roofers and janitors, many of them are sending money back to family in the country of their origin, so again, their own happiness is not their goal.

    If Stuart met some of them individually in person, he might admire their work ethics and duty to family, and he might be momentarily a little less opinionated on their choices.

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  3. Possibly AO, but there's that damned ILLEGAL aspect.

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  4. Sam L. said... Possibly AO, but there's that damned ILLEGAL aspect.

    Being an illegal person is certainly one of the greater predicaments a person can find himself, dangerous and expensive. You can make breathing illegal, but people are still going to try to do it.

    And other people will take advantage of it.
    http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/oct/20/hillary-clinton/hillary-clinton-correctly-claims-trump-tower-was-p/

    The informal economy is very interesting, illegal as well, and shows how hard it is to try to regulate or tax economic activity. When you participate, you have no "workers rights" and no security for work tomorrow. The new "flex economy" is trying to do the same thing for us legals as well, with the added bonus that we get to pay taxes.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Informal_sector
    https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2014/0608/Rise-of-the-flex-economy

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  5. For once, let's not be dumber than necessary. Being illegal is not a predicament. People do not find themselves in it. They choose it... voluntarily. If they do not want to be illegal they can go home. The option is always open.

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  6. From extensive first hand experience I can tell you that the majority of Mexicans that have come here in the last 15 years are here for the benefits and the work. To those who say "they pay taxes" yes they do, but they make sure they get a yearly refund including the Social Security they paid for that year. 90% want to go home, but go home wealthy.

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