Immigration

Female immigrant

APA Services supports practical and humane immigration policies that consider the well-being of immigrants and refugees, and particularly families, including the provision of appropriate medical, mental health, and social services.

Our focus

  • Protect young adults who are here under The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and support legislation and policy similar to the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAM Act).
  • Keep families together and discourage deportation.
  • Provide sufficient funding to ensure that immigrant youth are receiving appropriate medical and mental health services.
  • Fund research to understand the surge of child and adult immigrants, their exposure to trauma, and the impact of detention.

Our efforts on this issue advance the following advocacy priorities:

  • Access to health services, including mental and behavioral health services
  • Health equity for underserved and vulnerable populations
  • Health promotion and prevention throughout lifespan and settings
  • Human rights and racial equity
Psychologists can restore humanity for immigrants and all individuals. We do it through leveraging science and advocacy.
—Alfonso Mercado, PhD, Professor/Associate Chair, The University of Texas Rio Grand Valley

What you can do

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Contact us

K. Conwell Smith
Deputy Chief, Military and Veterans Policy
Email APA Advocacy Office

More on immigration

What Psychological Science Says About Immigration and Immigrant Health (PDF, 53KB) opens in new window

Psychological Science and Immigration Today: APA Task Force Report on Immigration and Health (PDF, 1.7MB) opens in new window

The report provides an overview of the current landscape and future objectives for clinical practice, research, training, and advocacy related to immigrant populations.

APA Policy Statement on Immigration Health (PDF, 77KB)

Immigrants may be disproportionately likely to experience stress and other behavioral health concerns (Cohodes et al., 2021; Doctors without Borders, 2020), which can be made worse with harmful public policies and lack of access to appropriate supports and services (Garcini et al., 2022; Samari, et al., 2021).

Supporting rolling back the Department of Homeland Security public charge rule (PDF, 277KB) opens in new window

On April 22, 2022, APA Services submitted comments in response to the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) request for comments on its proposed rule on the Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility.

Expressing support for immigration policy (PDF, 88KB) opens in new window

On February 11, 2022, APA CEO Arthur C. Evans Jr., PhD, sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas (PDF, 88KB) to thank him for establishing the Family Reunification Task Force and to express concern for any immigrant family separation that may still be occurring.

Vulnerable but not broken: Psychosocial challenges and resilience pathways among unaccompanied children from Central America (PDF: 810KB)

Last updated: March 2025Date created: October 2021