Increased immigrant stress in the United States under the two most recent presidential administrations

Researchers from Loyola University Chicago and the University of Tennessee Knoxville found that levels of stress and discrimination among immigrants in the United States varied significantly between the two most recent federal administrations. Under President Donald Trump, non-white immigrants experienced significantly more stress and discrimination than their white counterparts, a difference that was not evident during President Joe Biden’s term. The findings have been published in the Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work.

The US is a melting pot of cultures, with immigrants making up about 15% of the population. These individuals often face significant challenges, such as adapting to new cultural norms and navigating complex immigration policies that can vary dramatically from government to government.

Trump regularly used divisive rhetoric against immigrants and pursued strict immigration policies. High-profile enforcement actions included separation of parents and children and major workplace raids, leading to widespread fear and increased stress among both documented and undocumented immigrants.

In contrast, the subsequent Biden administration has taken steps to undo many of Trump’s policies, reducing workplace raids and family detention and restoring some immigration routes, although controversial policies remain.

Given the significant shifts in policy and potential impacts on immigrants’ well-being, the researchers sought to fill a critical knowledge gap by examining how these changes were related to immigrants’ stress, discrimination, and resilience.

“As an immigrant myself, I understand the stress that immigrants can experience abroad,” said study author Abha Rai, assistant professor and associate director at Center for Immigrant and Refugee at Loyola University Chicago.

“Immigrants are more vulnerable than non-immigrants given the challenges surrounding limited employment opportunities, work visas, and lack of knowledge of U.S. laws and policies. That’s why it made sense to research this topic. Furthermore, there is limited evidence on this topic, so this article can uniquely contribute to highlighting evidence on an important but under-researched topic.”

The researchers analyzed the perception and well-being of immigrants using two data sets, one from the Trump administration (April-June 2021) with 490 participants and another from the Biden administration (October-November 2022) with 306 participants. Both groups were surveyed using the Qualtrics platform, with changes in wording to specify the administration being evaluated.

The sample consisted of 48% male and 52% female participants, with an equal split between first- and second-generation immigrants. The target countries of origin were primarily from Latin America, Africa, South Asia, and East Asia, with additional participants from the Middle East.

The researchers used several validated scales to measure the constructs of interest. Government-related stress was measured using the modified Perceived Stress Scale, which included questions tailored to stressors from specific presidential policies. Discrimination experiences were assessed using the modified Everyday Discrimination Scale. Resilience was measured using the Brief Resilience Scale, and border-related stress was evaluated using the modified Border Community and Immigration Stress Scale.

Under the Trump administration, non-white immigrants experienced significantly higher levels of stress and discrimination compared to their white counterparts. This disparity was statistically significant and highlighted the specific challenges these groups faced during Trump’s term in office.

In contrast, under the Biden administration, these differences were not statistically significant, indicating a possible reduction in stress and discrimination experiences among non-white immigrants. This change could be attributed to the Biden administration’s reversal of some Trump-era policies and a generally more inclusive approach to immigration. However, several controversial immigration policies and visa/green card delays still exist.

The researchers also discovered interesting patterns in resilience among immigrant groups. During the Trump era, white participants reported higher levels of resilience compared to non-white groups. This finding implies that white immigrants may be less affected by the stressors that disproportionately affect racial minorities, possibly due to being less directly targeted by Trump’s exclusionary policies and rhetoric.

However, under the Biden administration, levels of resilience did not differ significantly by race, indicating a more uniform experience of resilience among different racial groups during his presidency.

The researchers also observed gender differences. Under the Trump administration, men reported higher levels of discrimination and boundary stress than women. This may reflect the gendered consequences of Trump’s immigration policies, which may have presented distinct challenges for male immigrants, such as increased surveillance and enforcement actions. However, these gender differences were not evident under the Biden administration.

“In our research we saw that political governance and leadership can influence stress among immigrants,” Rai told PsyPost. “This stress varied by racial group, reflecting the low stress experienced by those who identified as white in the study. Stress experiences also differed by gender, indicating that men experience more stress than women.”

“These findings are particularly concerning because immigrants make up approximately 15% of the U.S. population. Therefore, it is imperative that service providers work closely with immigrants to provide them with timely resources, and that policy advocates must propose more equitable and welcoming policies for immigrants, especially in the areas of work visas and green cards.”

But as with any research, the research also has limitations. The survey sample may not be fully representative of the U.S. immigrant population. All responses were in English, which excludes the experiences of non-English speakers.

“Several questions surrounding the integration and well-being of immigrants remain to be answered,” Rai said. “In the future, it would be useful to collect primary data from providers serving immigrants and engage with policy advocates to learn more about their views on the topic.”

“I would like to thank all my co-authors of this paper who supported me in its development, and my co-leader who helped me collect this data, Dr. Mary Lehman Held of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville,” she added.

The study “Stress Among Immigrants in the United States” was authored by Abha Rai, Mary Lehman Held, Emmalee Osborne and Ishita Kapur.