Legal Status, Deportation, and the Health of Returned Migrants from the USA to Mexico

Abstract: Since 2007, large numbers of Mexican migrants in the USA returned to Mexico voluntarily or through deportation. Theory argues that US immigration policy undermines immigrant health through the deprivations of undocumented legal status and deportation, but few studies have considered the combined influences of these exposures on health. We estimate the probability of poor self-rated health, recent physical health symptoms, and recent mental health symptoms by legal status and deportation experience among 42,853 Mexican migrants surveyed in the Survey of Migration in the Northern Border of Mexico (EMIF-Norte) between 2012 and 2014. Deportation is more strongly associated with health than undocumented legal status among returnees in Mexico. Considering the two dimensions of immigration enforcement combined reveals the especially poor health and mental health status of deported returnees, regardless of their legal status in the USA.