The reality of a journey: what school social workers need to know about the experiences of Latinx undocumented youth

ABSTRACT

This study used qualitative interviews to look at the experiences of undocumented youth’s journey to the United States. We examined challenges faced upon arrival, trauma at home and on the journey, and the impact on their life in the U.S. Our findings indicate that all participants had traumatic experiences that impacted family, education, and daily functioning. School social workers are well-placed to assist undocumented youth in addressing these traumatic experiences and can be paramount to increasing their emotional stability by creating safe spaces to learn and to use healthy coping strategies while adjusting to a new culture.

KEYWORDS:

• Trauma
• undocumented
• Latinx
• immigrant youth
• school social work

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the PIs of The Immigrant Youth Project, Dr. Elizabeth Aranda, Dr. Heide Castaneda, and Dr Elizabeth Vaquera for their help and feedback in the design of the interview guide (http://immigrantyouth.com/).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).