Participants said President Donald Trump\u2019s policies of targeting immigrants and people of color, mass deportations and warehousing people in immigration detention centers has caused significant impact on their mental well-being. Financial issues and concerns about being able to access healthcare<\/a> are destabilizing the community.<\/p>\n \u201cHealth isn\u2019t just (about) physical health,\u201d Michael Dao, director of the Human Rights Institute, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cIt\u2019s this communal health, it\u2019s housing security, which really plays into mental health, emotional health, communal health, physical health. It\u2019s really this holistic overall well-being that particularly those who are living in marginalized communities are facing.\u201d<\/p>\n A majority of the participants live in the Bay Area,\u00a0with more than half\u00a0originating from Mexico and one-third\u00a0from the U.S. Nearly all \u2014 roughly 89% \u2014 have lived in the U.S. for more than 15 years. Participants span the spectrum of status \u2014 from undocumented, pending status, permanent resident and citizen. Participants also varied widely in income level, from making less than $24,000 a year to more than $200,000.<\/p>\n When it came to the federal government\u2019s response to the top issues of affordable housing and access to healthcare, survey participants felt the federal government performed somewhat poor to neutral.<\/p>\n However, undocumented immigrants and permanent residents on average said the government is doing well when it comes to handling criminal justice, community safety and economic inequality.<\/p>\n SIREN Executive Director Huy Tran said they are still exploring the reasons behind this findings. One possible explanation could be these immigrants are fleeing more dangerous situations in their country of origin, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe interesting dynamic here is that when we went into focus groups, our participants opened up about how much fear they have to deal with from the federal government,\u201d Tran told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cOur focus group participants included impacted and at-risk individuals. This leaves the impression that there is at least some conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n Immigrants in the focus groups\u00a0voiced dismay at how they\u2019ve felt dehumanized by the federal government, \u00a0and not listened to by local elected officials.<\/p>\n \u201cHow is it possible that incarcerated people are treated better than those of us in detention centers?\u201d one unnamed Bay Area immigrant said in a focus group. \u201cAnd personally, I\u2019m scared. Because what if they take you to one of these places, you get sick and then they don\u2019t treat you?\u201d<\/p>\n Immigrants have been placed in precarious positions due to Trump\u2019s policies, including the \u201cOne Big Beautiful Bill\u201d passed last summer, also known as H.R. 1 which cut funding for social safety net programs for food stamps and Medicaid,<\/a> known as Medi-Cal in California.<\/p>\n H.R. 1 slashes funding for Medicaid<\/a> by $1 trillion over the next decade, lowering reimbursement rates for providers and undercutting access to services for the region\u2019s poorest residents. California expanded\u00a0Medi-Cal in 2024 to provide healthcare for all low-income residents, including undocumented people. However, it stopped accepting new undocumented enrollments at the beginning of the year.<\/p>\n Bay Area residents have felt the weight of these policies, and say their greatest hindrances are the long wait times, cost of services and restrictions around meeting eligibility requirements, according to the report.<\/p>\n San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight has previously reported how immigrants have\u00a0experienced delays in services<\/a>, medication cuts, difficulties navigating the new healthcare landscape and uncertainties about available services. Others have dropped coverage completely for fear of having their information exposed to the federal government. They are increasingly relying on mobile clinics, nonprofits, county programs and alternative medicine to get by.<\/p>\n \u201c(The impacts are) very severe,\u201d Dao said. \u201cWe haven\u2019t seen the worst yet. It\u2019s going to be until close to the end of this year that we\u2019re going to see how these lack of resources really play out.\u201d<\/p>\n Affordable housing is also top of mind for the Latino community.<\/p>\n Latino residents live in poverty at double the rate of other families in Santa Clara County, according to a recent county health assessment report<\/a>. From 2017 to 2021, Latinos\u2019 per capita income was $31,662, less than half of what it was for all county residents. In addition, Latino renters were more cost-burdened, at 57% compared to 45% of all households renting. Fewer Latinos said they lived in a stable environment.<\/p>\n The Latino homeless population<\/a> has exploded over the years. In 2007, Latinos made up 28% of Santa Clara County\u2019s homeless residents. It\u2019s now peaked at 50% of the homeless population<\/a>, according to a 2025 point in time count.<\/p>\n \u201cCompounding financial issues have made it extremely difficult to live and have a healthy life,\u201d the report reads. \u201cThe consensus is that the health of immigrant communities was inextricably intertwined with the ability to live a life that is secure and with access to social services.\u201d<\/p>\n The report indicated that understanding the areas that Latino communities care about most will help predict election outcomes. The report gave several recommendations, including for local officials to engage more with the immigrant community and to advance affordable housing policies. The report indicated that financial assistance for healthcare is imperative, as well as changing the narrative to humanize immigrants.<\/p>\n \u201cWe plan to use these findings to inform policy priorities and strengthen advocacy efforts focused on expanding access to affordable housing, healthcare and mental health support,\u201d Mariam Arif, spokesperson for SIREN, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cThe data highlights a growing mental health crisis driven by fear and immigration enforcement, persistent barriers such as cost and eligibility restrictions and ongoing experiences of discrimination and exclusion. These insights will help guide our strategies to better support and advocate for the communities we serve.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"In-line](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/interactive-321838904008.png\")
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