Asylum Seekers At The Us Southern Border The Neuropsychiatric Reality

Every year, thousands of people flee their homelands for the US southern border, often suddenly and without time to prepare, in search of safety and peace. In 2018 alone, 22,405 people were granted asylum in the United States,1 but these represent a small fraction of the total of asylum seekers.2,3 People from the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras have sought asylum in increasing numbers, and those who were granted asylum grew exponentially from 1,007 in 2012 to 8,480 in 2017.1,4 The worsening of violence and crime ignited by drug wars and gangs, as well as political persecution and basic human rights violations, have contributed to this staggering increase in Central American refugees seeking asylum.5 From October 2018 to September 2019, a total of 15,322 asylum seekers, including those from the Northern Triangle and other countries, arrived in Florida alone.4 The experience of seeking asylum itself has been associated with severe physical and psychological adverse effects.5