According to medical experts, immigrants are experiencing stress and depression due to the controversial Arizona law SB 1070.
United States-Mexico Border Health Commission representative Cecilia Rosales informed the media (, ‘From a health standpoint, this law is affecting everyone equally, whether they have immigration documents or not, whether they are legal residents or even citizens, for its anti-immigrant and anti-Mexican bias.’
A professor at the College of Public Health at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Dr. Rosales, said that SB 1070 has monumentally affected Hispanic communities in Arizona, so much so that many have expressed they are depressed and stressed due to fearing for themselves and/or their families.
Also, families are at risk of being split up every time they leave their homes.
“There are many immigrant families that we describe as mixed, in which the parents are undocumented but the children are U.S. citizens. Nonetheless, the stress affecting the parents is transmitted to the children,” she said.
Rosales also said that these families need to have a plan in order to react appropriately in case they are detained and handed over to immigration.
What will happen if SB 1070 is not repealed can only be estimated, but there are sure to be more deportations and high levels of anxiety and depression for the Hispanic community in Arizona, and across the country.
