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Is use of a smuggler to cross the US-Mexico border associated with mental health problems among undocumented immigrants from Mexico?

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  • Fernando A Wilson
  • Jim P Stimpson
  • Alexander N Ortega

Abstract

Although numerous studies have found that Latine immigrants to the United States (US) have better health outcomes on average than persons born in the US, studies of persons living in Mexico have found that undocumented immigrants have worse health, especially those that were deported, compared to Mexican citizens that never migrated or migrated with authorization. However, the health outcomes of Mexican migrants using a smuggler to cross the US-Mexico border is a gap in the literature. We hypothesized that undocumented immigrant adults who used a smuggler to cross the US-Mexico border would be more likely to report mental health problems upon return to Mexico compared with undocumented immigrant adults that did not use a smuggler. We analyzed nationally representative, cross-sectional survey data of 1,563 undocumented immigrants currently living in Mexico. Most undocumented immigrants in the sample (87%) used a smuggler. Use of a smuggler by undocumented immigrant adults was associated with a 4.7% higher prevalence of emotional or psychiatric problems compared to undocumented immigrant adults that did not use a smuggler. We conclude that modality of ingress into the US is a risk factor for poorer mental health among undocumented immigrant adults.

Suggested Citation

  • Fernando A Wilson & Jim P Stimpson & Alexander N Ortega, 2023. "Is use of a smuggler to cross the US-Mexico border associated with mental health problems among undocumented immigrants from Mexico?," PLOS Global Public Health, Public Library of Science, vol. 3(8), pages 1-8, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pgph00:0002232
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0002232
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Hainmueller, Jens, 2012. "Entropy Balancing for Causal Effects: A Multivariate Reweighting Method to Produce Balanced Samples in Observational Studies," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(1), pages 25-46, January.
    2. Hainmueller, Jens & Xu, Yiqing, 2013. "ebalance: A Stata Package for Entropy Balancing," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 54(i07).
    3. repec:sae:mrxval:v:53:y:2019:i:2:p:571-601 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Ruhnke, Simon A. & Reynolds, Megan M. & Wilson, Fernando A. & Stimpson, Jim P., 2022. "A healthy migrant effect? Estimating health outcomes of the undocumented immigrant population in the United States using machine learning," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 307(C).
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