“You Will Never See Your Child Again:” The Persistent Psychological Effects of Family Separation

Hajar Habbach, Kathryn Hampton, and Ranit Mishori - Physicians for Human Rights

This report from Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) presents findings from an investigation based on psychological evaluations of asylum-seeking parents and children who were separated by the U.S. government in 2018. The investigation found pervasive symptoms and behaviors consistent with trauma; most met diagnostic criteria for at least one mental health condition, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder, or generalized anxiety disorder consistent with, and likely linked to, the trauma of family separation.

PHR evaluated 17 adults and nine children who had been separated under the policy for an average of 60-69 days; all but one child had been reunited at the time of evaluation. The investigation sought to explore two key questions: 1) What traumatic experiences did these asylum seekers report in their home countries, during their journey to the United States, and during and after their apprehension at the border?; and 2) What were the psychological effects associated with the forced separation of children from their parents and other family members after entry into the United States? The narratives presented in the report help shed light on the experiences of separated families.

This study’s findings provide evidence of the adverse physical and mental health effects linked to the Trump administration’s family separation policy. In nearly every case encountered, PHR’s expert medical evaluators noted that the trauma suffered by the parents and the children warranted further intervention and ongoing therapeutic support, because the events were causing “significant distress” and ongoing functional impairment. The interventions most frequently recommended included trauma-focused psychotherapy, removal from detention, and psychiatric medications.

PHR finds that the U.S. government’s treatment of asylum seekers through its policy of family separation constitutes cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment and, in all cases evaluated by PHR experts, rises to the level of torture.

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