Co-authored by Priscilla Li, BA and Eunice Y. Yuen, MD, PhD

In this contentious election year, immigration is the most concerning issue, according to Gallup 2024 monthly surveys. The number of asylum seekers reached a historical record high at the U.S.-Mexico border in December 2023 and challenged the humanitarian grounds of the U.S. immigration policy. This trend created turmoil and depleted resources along the border and across multiple cities. Unfortunately, it also undermined the benefits of immigration. Immigrants keep the U.S. population young and increase the workforce for the next decade, helping the U.S. to avoid the aging workforce crises happening in China and Japan.

Though the public is concerned with these issues surrounding immigration, we rarely ask: Do we know what it feels like to be an immigrant? Is there a difference between the first, 1.5 and second generation immigrants? It is well known that acculturative stress that stems from seemingly insurmountable economical, cultural, and social challenges can create mental health issues that are often not properly addressed or recognized by immigrant communities. This can be driven by factors like stigma. One unique issue is intergenerational trauma, which is defined as the “transmission of trauma or its legacy, in the form of a psychological consequence of an injury or attack, poverty, and so forth, from the generation experiencing the trauma to subsequent generations.”

Recent Disney and Pixar movies have depicted the immigrant experience. Directed by Bryon Howard and Jared Bush and co-directed by Charise Castro Smith, Encanto (2021) follows 15-year-old Mirabel’s journey of revealing the cracks in her family’s magic and home. Directed by Domee Shi, Turning Red (2022) is a coming-of-age story about 13-year-old Meilin, who navigates self-identity and puberty. Directed by Peter Sohn, Elemental (2023) depicts a love story between........

© Psychology Today