Precarious status: illegality and mental health among immigrants during the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose - During the COVID-19 pandemic, immigrants faced new challenges that increased their precarity which often perpetuated existing social and health-related inequities. This compounded inadequate access to healthcare, harsh working conditions, marginalization due to legal status and fear of deportation, all of which were worsened during the height of the pandemic. This article aims to examine how existing social factors that marginalize immigrant populations were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic based on a study with immigrant farmworkers in Apopka, Florida. Design/methodology/approach - The author analyzes how they were affected by stress both before and during the pandemic, and how these factors affected their mental health. Findings - The author concludes that im/migrants' often precarious status negatively affects their experiences with mental health, and that this was heightened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the long-term nature of precarity for this vulnerable population, this study captures these issues as they were experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originality/value - This research contributes to emerging scholarship concerning social factors and mental health during the pandemic by examining the experiences of one of the most marginal populations in the United States.