By: EFE ~ La Opinion ~ January 7, 2020
The California-Mexico Studies Center (CMSC) started a campaign on Monday to inform and educate the population about the psychological crisis that affects undocumented immigrants, because "people are terrified," the psychologist and director of CMSC Armando Vázquez-Ramos told EFE.
Analysis conducted by CMSC in 2019 shows that "there are children who are leaving school", not only because parents are afraid of the risk of deportation, but also because "there is fear that they will be mistreated," said Vázquez-Ramos.
For the activist, who has been studying the emotional needs of so-called "dreamers" for years, it is not just a local call; It is also a broad call to state legislators and the federal government to offer mental health programs to undocumented people.
This situation may affect the quality of education in general, as school districts lose financial resources by decreasing attendance and the number of their students, Vázquez-Ramos noted.
"I am sure that this year is going to be worse and much harder than we anticipated," the CMSC director said.
"People are terrified; it is a 'state terrorism' and it is very worrying that the community is so quiet," added the university professor and master in Psychology.
Vázquez-Ramos meets this Monday with Christopher Steinhauser, Superintendent of the Long Beach Educational School District, south of Los Angeles, to propose a pilot program for public schools.
"Schools have to be given responsibility not only to care for children, but to provide attention to parents," said Vázquez Ramos, who has led a national campaign to restore the permit known as "Advance Parole."
This permit authorizing undocumented youth beneficiaries of Deferred Action (DACA) to leave the country for humanitarian or academic reasons and return to the country legally, was voided in 2017, when President Donald Trump announced the end of DACA.
One in 13 people in California are undocumented. Also, 750,000 students in public schools in grades preschool through 12 have at least one parent who is undocumented, according to an analysis by the non-profit organization Ed Trust-West.
A report from the University of Berkeley estimated that about 2.2 million undocumented immigrants reside in California.
Source: EFE ~ La Opinion ~ January 7, 2020
