Immigration & Trauma Part 1: What Is Immigration Trauma?

Do you remember your first move?

Perhaps it was when you were young, and your family had just moved to a new city. You might have had to adjust to a new neighborhood and figure out how to fit in with kids at the new school. 

Maybe you were older and leaving for school or work to a new place, and perhaps there was a mix of hope and fear and excitement and worry in your heart. 

Regardless of circumstances, moving to a new location always comes with complex emotions and challenges; this is especially so for people who immigrate to a completely different country. 

For some, the process of immigration can be traumatic and can impact various parts of one’s mental health, hence the importance of recognizing and talking about it. 

In this 4-Part Series on Immigration Trauma, we will look at the types and impact of trauma people can experience from the process of immigration, how it can show up in people, and what people can do to support themselves and protect their mental health.

We will end the series by discussing what mental health professionals should be mindful of when working with clients experiencing immigration trauma. 

Immigration Trauma & the Immigration Process

Immigration trauma is any form of trauma people can experience from the immigration and adjustment process, which can occur before, during and after immigration. 

It has been suggested that between 25% and 50% of people experience trauma during the immigration process. 

Different parts of the immigration process can be traumatic for different people, and there are some common forms of trauma pre-migration, during migration, and post-migration:

1. Pre-Migration Trauma:

Pre-migration trauma happens before the move itself and often influences the decision to move. 

Not every reason to immigrate is traumatic, some families seek a different or better life, and it is important to consider other possibilities. 

Some families immigrate because events forced them to move such as:

• Violence

• Poverty

• War

• Persecution

Pre-migration trauma can also include more subtle and chronic events, including a personal trauma history, chronic stress or discrimination (e.g. against gender, disability, body shape, or sexual orientation). 

Preparing and meeting immigration requirements may also cause or worsen stress and anxiety. 

Even the very beginning of the immigration process can be traumatic and impact mental health. 

2. Migration Trauma:

Migration trauma happens during the travel and transit to the destination. 

Immigration transit and travel are not a safe process for all. The journey itself can be long and dangerous, and there are obvious dangers including being targeted for human trafficking.

Immigration can involve violence or detention at the border, and some may lose access to basic needs such as shelter when they wait to be accepted into the destination country. 

Every step of the process may also be tinted with a general sense of fear, stress, and anxiety, such as fear of being rejected, deported, or separated from family in the process, amplifying the challenges.

Regardless of the method of immigration, many immigrants have to battle the uncertainty of whether they will be able to arrive safely and find a space for them in a new place.  

3. Post-Migration Trauma:

Post-migration trauma happens after the arrival at the destination.

The living conditions for many people are not great until they can fully settle and find stability.

Accessing basic needs like homes, health care, stable incomes, and education can be extremely stressful and even traumatic. 

There is still a lot of difficulty for people to get work permits, and there is uncertainty of legal immigration status before people can obtain Permanent Residency (e.g. applying for asylum or student visa). 

Some people may experience detention until such matters are reviewed and receive terrible treatment. 

Even after settling, changes to legal legislations that impact their status could shake their footing again, making it hard to be certain of their security and safety.  

Immigration Trauma & the Adjustment Process

Adapting, adjusting, and integrating into the host country is a process that never ends and can come as a series of traumatic events. 

There are many forms of trauma that can occur during the adjustment process, and it is important to understand them.

1. Experiences of Oppression, Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Racial Trauma:

Part of immigration trauma can come from discrimination and unfair treatment people can be subjected to from the host country. 

If you are a racialized person, you may also experience racial trauma, which is a psychological injury caused by racism, discrimination, and hate crimes. 

Since a big portion of immigrants are racialized folks, many of them experience such trauma, impacting their health and well-being at every level. 

Oppression and discrimination are seen both at the individual level and at the systemic level:

A. Discrimination, Oppression, and Racial Trauma at an Individual Level: 

• Direct or indirect events such as microaggressions, targeted harassment/ violence, vicarious trauma (such as seeing violence against immigrants on the news or seeing your family experience it), implicit/explicit exclusion from social groups, and demeaning comments or behaviours. 

• Repeated exposure to such events can cause intense distress and, to survive, people may erase their identity or reject their own culture in an effort to fit in, causing further trauma down the line.

B. Systemic Oppression:

• Oppression may be implemented by the larger society and institutions, reflecting a pattern of discrimination and oppression within a society that goes beyond individual discrimination or prejudice. 

• This may be policies in the host country that disproportionately negatively affect immigrants or racialized folks or are overtly hostile toward them (e.g. forced deportation), societal views that value the host country’s culture over others (thereby ignoring or expecting people to suppress their culture of origin), negative sentiments in mainstream society against immigrants, or seeing and treating them as stereotypes or outsiders. 

• For instance, immigrants, especially people of colour, may be more policed or targeted in all parts of the immigration process (at the border, during the immigration screening, in seeking work, during adjustment to new environments, finding a place to live, etc). 

• Further, some services may be harder to access for immigrants due to their residency status, even for basic needs such as health care, subsidies, employment, and education. All such factors make existing in the host country not only feel unsafe, but tangibly unsafe. 

2. Loss, Grief, and Isolation:

Trauma, in a sense, can be seen as a disconnect - from yourself, others, or the world - which causes a feeling of isolation and instability. 

Many immigrants know this feeling, and thus the trauma of it, all too well. 

Perhaps you were the only one who moved to a new country, working to better the lives of your family back home, or maybe you were encouraged to move for a better life as your family stayed home to support you. 

Regardless of the case, and even when you move with your family, the feeling of loss of home, community, and belongingness is common among many immigrants. 

Many also often come from completely different jobs, with different positions, socioeconomic statuses, and achievements, only to have to work in completely different fields and not have their achievements recognized once they move, all just to survive. 

Such experiences can cause a loss of identity, and with it, a loss of confidence, power, control, and relationship with self and others.

Cultural bereavement is a loss of culture, language, customs, traditions and a sense of belongingness. This can include missing experiences of not having access to culture or ancestral knowledge. 

Parents may grieve that their children can only speak English. Children of immigrants may miss their culture or the chance to get to know it. 

When a tragedy happens in their home country, they may grieve over the fact that they can’t be there to support it. 

Grief can also come from the fact that you may want to go back, but cannot. 

All such experiences can be traumatic and cause grief, and the grief can in turn further the trauma and its impact. 

3. Children of Immigrants:

Children of immigrants can also experience a lot of trauma during adjustment. 

They may have to take on adult roles, responsibilities, and stress, which can accumulate into trauma. It’s common for them to have to translate and navigate things for their caregivers (even things beyond their comprehension or skills, like complex legal documents), take care of younger siblings, and have to work young to support the family. 

Essentially, they may have had to become a caregiver to their caregivers to navigate them through the new culture and system, even though they themselves are struggling and learning on the go. 

This can be incredibly stressful and overwhelming to one’s internal system. Further, many feel the pressure to not let down their caregiver’s high expectations of success and “sacrifice”, which can further stress them. 

4. Language and Cultural Barriers: 

Being in a new country not only comes with a language barrier but also a cultural barrier, as people try to adjust to various new norms and customs and face culture shocks. 

Learning a new language or cultural norms can be fun and exciting when we do it as a hobby; but when it is connected to your survival and livelihood, it can suddenly become a big source of stress. 

This stress is further exacerbated by discrimination and harassment you may experience from language and cultural differences, causing distress, isolation, and trauma. 

Further, the confusion that can happen from having to constantly “code-switch” (having to act differently in the dominant cultural settings vs. at home) can make you feel trapped and as if you never fully belong in either place. 

While such disconnect is especially true for children of immigrants, it can be an isolating and traumatic experience for many.

Immigration trauma can stem from various challenges, including discrimination, racial trauma, and cultural loss, which significantly affect the mental health of immigrants. Trauma from such sources can lead to feelings of isolation, grief, and a loss of identity while adjusting to a new culture. 

In the next part of the series, we will take a look at how Immigration Trauma can show up in people.

Jiwon You is a psychologist specializing in working with adults in trauma therapy and self-esteem therapy. She is passionate about helping people heal from trauma and self-criticism so they can feel better and live more fulfilling lives. Jiwon provides affirming online therapy in Calgary and across Alberta for all folks 18+ and can provide services in Korean and English.