Upfront
APA brings its report on immigration and mental health to Capitol Hill
As part of APA’s Mental
Health Month activities in
May, APA leaders held a May
9 briefing for members of
Congress and their staffs on
the association’s new report
Crossroads: The Psychology
of Immigration in the New
Century. Initiated by APA
2011 President Melba J. T.
Vasquez, PhD, the report is
APA’s most comprehensive
scientific review to date on
immigration.
The report provides
researchers, practitioners,
educators, graduate
students and policymakers
with an understanding of
the psychological process
of immigration and the
demographic changes under
way in American society. It
also dispels common myths
about immigrants and
emphasizes the need to value
immigrants’ unique attributes and
contributions, particularly with
regard to culture and language.
“A major reason I chose
to prioritize a report on the
current state of scientific and
professional knowledge about
immigration was my concern
about the widespread negative
views of immigration reported in
the media,” says Vasquez. “The
report seeks to inform clinicians,
researchers and the larger public
on the scientific evidence in
psychology literature in hopes
of reducing the gap between
research and policy.”
In addition to the congressional
briefing, APA leaders including
Vasquez visited the offices of
Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.),
Immigration on Capitol Hill: From left to right, Dr. Usha Tummala-Narra, Dr. Carola Suárez-Orozco, Dr. Melba Vasquez, Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.) and Dr. Dina Birman.
Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and
Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas)
and met with the co-chair of the
Congressional Mental Health
Caucus, Rep. Grace Napolitano
(D-Calif.) to discuss the report’s
findings.
The report was prepared by a
six-member APA Presidential Task
Force on Immigration, whose
members are Carola Suárez-
Orozco, PhD (chair), Dina Birman,
PhD, J. Manuel Casas, PhD,
Nadine Nakamura, PhD, Usha
Tummala-Narra, PhD, and Michael
Zárate, PhD. The task force
spent 16 months on research,
consultation and writing; the draft
was reviewed by an advisory
committee, 10 APA divisions,
22 boards and committees and
various immigration experts
before it was received by the 170
plus members of the APA Council
of Representatives in February.
14
MONITOR ON PSYCHOLOGY • JULY/AUGUST 2012
