Mental health of U.S. return migrants to Mexico City.

OBJECTIVES

To examine the association of migration-related factors on mental health among Mexican-origin return migrants who lived in the United States and returned to Mexico, either voluntarily or through deportation.

STUDY

DESIGN

This is a cross-sectional study.

METHODS

We used data from Tirando Muros, a mixed-methods multi-site study (2020-2023), including 275 return migrants in Mexico City recruited through ethnographic social mapping and respondent-driven sampling. Multivariable linear and logistic regression assessed the relationship of immigration history, social support, and social isolation on mental health (depressive symptoms, psychological distress, poor sleep).

RESULTS

Depressive symptoms and psychological distress were significantly associated with greater social isolation and having left a child behind in the U.S. Poor sleep was associated with immigrating as a minor, social isolation, and multiple return migrations. Social support was protective for all outcomes. Deportation, compared to voluntarily return, was not associated with any mental health outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Return migrants to Mexico face mental health risks, shaped more by social isolation and transnational family separation than by deportation alone. Findings underscore the need for culturally responsive, trauma-informed mental health services and social reintegration supports for returnees.