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Voices & Opinion

POV: Schools Must Address Harassment Based on Immigration

Wheelock College researchers: youth who have been targeted are more likely to report symptoms of depression, anxiety

Immigration policy has historically been a polarizing issue in the United States, and in recent years has ignited significant media attention that has highlighted the experiences of youth. Moreover, research indicates that harassment based on immigration status has increased in recent years. In addition, exposure to xenophobic rhetoric and policies has been linked to increases in stress and anxiety within schools. It is critical for schools to address these destructive comments and provide an environment where all students feel safe and can access learning opportunities.

As such, our research asks: What is the frequency with which adolescents are exposed to harassment based on immigration status and xenophobic rhetoric at school, and what are the effects of such exposures?

To address these questions, in partnership with the New England Anti-Defamation League (ADL), our research team has been surveying high school students about whether they have been harassed at school based on their immigration or perceived immigration status, the frequency with which they hear derogatory comments about immigration at school, and their well-being. (The opinions expressed here are ours, not that of the ADL.)

Last fall, 5,118 high school students from nine public high schools in New England completed online surveys. Of those students, 2 percent indicated they had been harassed in the past 30 days based on their immigration or perceived immigration status. Among students experiencing harassment, students who identified as Hispanic and Latinx were disproportionately affected; 8.3 percent of Hispanic or Latinx adolescents reported harassment compared to 1.5 percent of adolescents who did not identify as Hispanic or Latinx.

Many more students—39 percent—reported hearing negative comments about immigration, such as “build a wall,” in the past 30 days. Among the subgroup of students who reported hearing such comments, 30 percent heard peers making comments once, and 57 percent heard peers making comments two or more times. Comments by teachers were less frequent, with 8 percent of this subgroup of students indicating they heard comments from teachers once, and 8 percent stating they heard comments from teachers two or more times. 

Critically, students who indicated they had been harassed at school based on immigration or perceived immigration status reported more symptoms of anxiety and depression than their peers, and also were more likely to state they did not feel safe at school (32 percent vs. 6 percent). Further, students who heard derogatory comments about immigration reported more anxiety and depression than students who did not report hearing such comments, and were more likely to feel unsafe at school (11 percent vs. 4 percent). Taken together, findings highlight how all students in school have the potential to be negatively affected by the presence of xenophobia, which counters dialogue that often occurs around immigration that implies the issue is one occurring primarily at the borders and is not affecting the lives of a wide range of people.

What might schools do in response to these findings? Evidence-based programs for schools that aim to improve school climate and promote respectful behaviors exist, and some have demonstrated promise in reducing identity-based harassment forms (for example, one, called Second Step, has been linked to reductions in being targeted by homophobic epithets). It may be that more tailored programs that focus on bias and identity-based harassment are necessary to address immigration-based harassment forms, however.

The surveys described above were implemented as part of an evaluation of the Anti-Defamation League’s Peer Training Program (PTP), which aims to reduce all forms of identity-based harassment and promote ally behaviors. A key component of the PTP is that peer leaders complete extensive training and in turn facilitate anti-bias activities among their peers. Through a focus group we conducted, peer leaders indicated that participation in the PTP increased their awareness of bias and how it is reflected in schools and other settings, and that the program empowered and equipped them to address instances of bias. Peer leaders no doubt bring these new ways of thinking not only to the in-class trainings they lead, but also to their friends and to the peers with whom they interact daily at school. Through the diffusion of these principles, students more collectively will have opportunities to consider their own biases and behaviors; in turn, xenophobic rhetoric and harassment can be reduced.

Although attending to harassment based on immigration in schools is essential, we believe it is imperative for broader societal policies and structures that affect youth to advance, rather than challenge, the safety and fundamental rights of individuals from all backgrounds. Youth absorb the rhetoric of the contexts in which they are embedded, and are directly impacted by policies at the school, local, and national levels. For young people to demonstrate mutual respect towards peers of all backgrounds, the environments in which they interact, and the language to which they are exposed, must also reflect these principles. Given the rise in harassment, xenophobic rhetoric, and policies threatening immigrants and immigration, and the concomitant detrimental effects on youth, it is incumbent upon schools and the multiple contexts in which youth are embedded to advocate for, and enact, change.