The statement below was issued in December 2024 by the Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict, and Violence (Division 48 of the American Psychological Association). As the Society’s current president, I am pleased to share it with readers. A PDF version is available online here.
Peace Psychologists Oppose Looming Mass Deportations
The Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict, and Violence (Division 48 of the American Psychological Association) expresses its alarm and outrage over the looming possibility of the mass deportation of immigrants in the United States.[1] As an organization committed to promoting peace through psychology-based knowledge and practice, we deplore this inhumane escalation in the adversity already faced by over 12 million workers, parents, and children who are part of our communities and contribute to the U.S. economy.
Our discipline’s scientific literature is replete with research documenting the debilitating harms associated with family separation and with forced removal to detention facilities or back to regions of instability and violence. Despite the fortitude and determination that have long characterized immigrant communities, such experiences can have devastating and lifelong psychological effects, especially on children.
Psychologists have also illuminated the long-term toll on both physical and psychological health when fear becomes a chronic part of people’s daily lives. The menacing effects of past and promised workplace raids — and other unpredictable and distressing intrusions into the security of family and community life — are cruelly terrorizing in both their intent and their impact.
Finally, in addition to undocumented immigrants themselves, these policies can harm the mental health of U.S. citizens who know detained or deported immigrants. Indeed, peace psychologists recognize that the targeting of any vulnerable group poses a serious challenge to a shared vision of the common good, by fraying the fabric of trust and mutual care that binds diverse communities together.
For all of these reasons, the Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict, and Violence stands with those directly threatened, learning from their leadership and their persistence. We strongly condemn the current plans for mass deportation and support acts of pragmatic solidarity in opposition to these draconian measures.
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This statement from the Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict, and Violence does not represent the position of the American Psychological Association or any of its other Divisions or subunits.
Recognizing that the concerns expressed here are not unique to peace psychologists alone, our Society welcomes support and endorsement of this statement from other APA divisions.
Background Resources
American Psychological Association. (2024). APA policy statement on immigrant health. https://www.apa.org/about/policy/statement-immigrant-health.pdf
American Psychological Association Task Force on Immigration and Health. (2024). Psychological Science and Immigration Today. https://www.apa.org/pubs/reports/psychological-science-immigration-today.pdf
Buckingham, S. L., Langhout, R. D., Rusch, D., Mehta, T., Chavez, N. R., Ferreira van Leer, K., Oberoi, A., Indart, M., Paloma, V., King, V. E., & Olson, B. (2021). The roles of settings in supporting immigrants’ resistance to injustice and oppression. American Journal of Community Psychology, 68(3-4), 269-291.http://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12515
Chicco, J., Esparza, P., Lykes, M. B., Balcazar, F. E., & Ferreira, K. (2016). Policy statement on the incarceration of undocumented migrant families. American Journal of Community Psychology, 57(1-2), 255–263. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12017
Heinrich, C., Hernandez, M., & Shero, M. (2023). Repercussions of a raid: Health and education outcomes of children entangled in immigration enforcement. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 42(2), 350-392. https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.22443
Langhout, R. D., Buckingham, S. L., Oberoi, A., Chavez, N., Rusch, D., Esposito, F., & Suarez-Balcazar, Y. (2018). Statement on the effects of deportation and forced separation on immigrants, their families, and communities. American Journal of Community Psychology, 62(1–2), 3–12. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12256
Lopez, W. D., Novak, N. L., Eidy, N.-H., Shull, T. L., & Stuesse, A. (2023). Challenges to addressing mental health repercussions of large-scale immigration worksite raids in the rural United States. Journal of Rural Mental Health, 47(1), 59–63. https://doi.org/10.1037/rmh0000223
Pinedo, M., & Valdez, C. R. (2020). Immigration enforcement policies and the mental health of US citizens: Findings from a comparative analysis. American Journal of Community Psychology, 66(1-2), 119-129. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12464
[1] Savage, C., & Gold, M. (November 18, 2024). Trump Confirms Plans to Use the Military to Assist in Mass Deportations. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/18/us/politics/trump-military-mass-deportation.html