Y el luto sigue (and the grief continues): Latinx Immigrant's Experiences of Ambiguous Loss in the Age of Restrictive Immigration Policy

• Published date: 01 October 2021
• Author: Elizabeth Sanchez,Sandy P. Philbin,Cecilia Ayón
• Date: 01 October 2021
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12564

E S University of California, Riverside

S P. P Independent Researcher

C A University of California, Riverside

Y el luto sigue (and the grief continues): Latinx

Immigrant’s Experiences of Ambiguous Loss in the

Age of Restrictive Immigration Policy

Objective: Informed by Boss’s ambiguous loss

theory and an ecological perspective, this study

examined Latinx immigrant mothers’ experi-

ences of loss associated with their immigration

status and the restrictive immigration policy cli-

mate.

Background: Undocumented participants

strive to maintain international familial ties

and experience loss in their inability to see or

share a space with loved ones in their country

of origin due to restrictive immigration policy

and enforcement that inhibits their international

mobility.

Methods: In-depth semistructured interviews

were completed with 25 Latinx immigrant moth-

ers who were mostly undocumented or members

of mixed-status families.

Results: Findings support a model of transna-

tional loss. Loss is experienced at premigration,

upon arrival, and long after settlement. Par-

ticipants’ quotes illustrate their experiences of

ambiguous, anticipatory, and complicated loss.

In addition, transnational loss was described as

University of California, Riverside, School of Public

Policy, 900 University Avenue, Riverside CA, 92521

(cayon@ucr.edu).

Key Words: ambiguous loss, anticipatory loss, complicated

grief, Latinx immigrants, restrictive immigration policies.

a shared experience, one that impacted many

undocumented immigrants in the United States

and participants’ family members. A subtheme,

intergenerational loss, emerged in which chil-

dren vicariously experienced their parents’ loss.

Conclusion: Transnational loss is disenfran-

chised because it is not socially recognized,

leaving immigrants to mourn in silence.

Implications: Practitioners serving immigrant

communities should integrate grief and loss sup-

port through psychoeducation, assessments, and

therapy. At a policy level, immigrants need to

have the opportunity to adjust their status so that

they can reclaim these lost social interactions.

An estimated 11 million undocumented immi-

grants reside in the United States (Gelatt &

Zong, 2018). Latinxs, particularly those who

are undocumented or whose family is mixed

status, are adversely impacted by restrictive

immigration policies and enforcement, hin-

dering their integration process (Ayón, 2017;

Menjivar & Abrego, 2012; Pierce, 2019).

Enforcement strategies have emphasized deten-

tion and deportation through discretionary

stops or community and workplace raids (Guo

& Baugh, 2019), with Latinxs disproportion-

ately detained and deported (Rosenblum &

McCabe, 2014). In the Trump administration,

Family Relations 70 (October 2021): 1009–1026 1009

DOI:10.1111/fare.12564

1010 Family Relations

there was a prioritization on surveillance and

enforcement, a decrease in humanitarian relief

for refugees and asylum seekers, and an attempt

to eliminate programs that provide some pro-

tections, such as Deferred Action for Childhood

Arrivals and Temporary Protection Status

(Chishti et al., 2017; Pierce & Bolter, 2020).

Substantial evidence illustrates the adverse

effects of restrictive policies and stringent

enforcement on Latinx immigrant families’

well-being, particularly psychological distress

(Ayón & Becerra, 2013; Lopez et al., 2017;

Salas et al., 2013; Vargas & Ybarra, 2017),

including family members and community

members who are citizens or permanent res-

idents (Enriquez, 2020; Rubio-Hernandez &

Ayón, 2016; Sabo, 2013).

The restrictive policy climate impacted

undocumented immigrants’ mobility as many

reduced time spent outside of their homes for

fear of being detained (Ayón, 2017). In addi-

tion, increased enforcement or militarization

of the U.S.–Mexican border has put an end

to cyclical migration (Rojas-Flores, 2017). As

a result, undocumented immigrants tend to

settle in the United States because returning

home seasonally or to visit family is too dan-

gerous (Massey, 2013; Massey et al., 2003;

Reyes, 2004). Many transnational immigrant

families, those that have strong ties to both

countries and cultures (Baldassar, 2007a,

2007b), have left family members, customs,

and their homelands behind and experience

uncertainty as they adjust in the country of

reception (Akhtar; 1999; Solheim et al., 2016).

Evidence supports the perseverance of bonds

across distance for transnational families (Bal-

dassar, 2007a, 2007b). Distance and time do

not diminish ties to family but may disrupt,

fracture, and transform interactions (Baldas-

sar, 2007a). Thus, transnational immigrants

experience emotional and psychological

costs of migration (Falicov, 2005; Perez &

Arnold-Berkovits, 2018). Many immigrants

mourn the loss of separation and struggle

with the ambiguity of reunication (Solheim

et al., 2016). This study addresses a gap in

the literature, as it situates immigrants’ expe-

riences of ambiguous loss within a restrictive

immigration policy climate. We aim to raise

awareness of immigrant mothers’ experiences

of ambiguous loss as a form of psychological

distress resulting from restrictive immigration

policy. We pay close attention to how mothers’

own status and their familial status inform their

experiences, and we provide recommendations

for practice and policy.

A L

Ambiguous loss is a form of grief that is multi-

faceted and creates uncertainty. Rooted in stress

and coping theory, ambiguous loss was coined

in the 1970s to describe a type of loss experi-

enced when a loved one is absent in body or mind

(Boss, 1999; Boss & Carnes, 2012). Ambiguous

losses lead to ambiguity and confusion that can-

not be claried or resolved. Moreover, ambigu-

ous losses are a result of the individual’s expe-

rience in their social environment. Ambiguous

loss is persistent even across generations (Boss

& Carnes, 2012).

There are two major types of ambiguous

losses. The rst type, known as the “leaving

without good-bye” loss (Boss, 1999), is dened

as physical absence with psychological pres-

ence. Examples of this type of loss include immi-

gration, adoption, and soldiers who are miss-

ing in action (Boss, 2002, 2010). Although the

loved family member is not physically present,

they remain psychologically present in memo-

ries. The second type of loss is dened as psy-

chological absence with physical presence. This

type of loss is known as the “good-bye with-

out leaving” loss (Boss, 1999) and also has been

characterized as loss due to incremental absence.

This loss occurs when a loved one has a men-

tal illness and is present physically but lacks the

mental capacity to be psychologically available

(Boss, 2010). Examples of these losses include

loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease, chronic

mental illness, or those who are excessively pre-

occupied (Boss, 2010). Caregivers may expe-

rience melancholia or complicated grief even

though no death has occurred (Boss, 2010).

The ambiguous loss framework is appropriate

for explaining loss in immigrant family systems

because they are apart from their native families

and experience unresolved loss due to missing

family (Boss & Carnes, 2012).

C, A,

 D G

Ambiguous losses are considered among the

most stressful and traumatizing experiences.

Grief associated with ambiguous loss tends to

go unresolved and often fails to reach resolution.