When Systems of Oppression Intersect: Mental Health and the Immigration System
By Special Correspondent Thea Lim
Angry Asian Man reports on the story of Xiu Ping Jiang, a 35 year-old Chinese illegal immigrant diagnosed with a mental illness who has been stuck in immigration limbo for over a year. From the New York Times:
[Jiang] has spent more than a year in jail, often in solitary confinement, sinking deeper into the mental illness that makes it impossible for her either to fight deportation or to obtain the travel documents needed to make it happen, according to a pending habeas corpus petition that seeks her release. It contends that she is suicidal, emaciated and deprived of proper medical treatment.
More distressing is the report of her first court appearance in the NYT, which led to her deportation order:
Twice the immigration judge asked the woman’s name. Twice she gave it: Xiu Ping Jiang. But he chided her, a Chinese New Yorker, for answering his question before the court interpreter had translated it into Mandarin.
“Ma’am, we’re going to do this one more time, and then I’m going to treat you as though you were not here,” the immigration judge, Rex J. Ford, warned the woman last year at her first hearing in Pompano Beach, Fla. He threatened to issue an order of deportation that would say she had failed to show up.
She was a waitress with no criminal record, no lawyer and a history of attempted suicide. Her reply to the judge’s threat, captured by the court transcript, was in imperfect English. “Sir, I not — cannot go home,” she said, referring to China, which her family says she fled in 1995 after being forcibly sterilized at 20. “If I die, I die America.”
The judge moved on. “The respondent, after proper notice, has failed to appear,” he said for the record. And as she declared, “I’m going to die now,” he entered an order deporting her to China, and sent her back to the Glades County immigration jail.
As Angry Asian Man says:
The situation illustrates the vulnerability of the mentally ill in the immigration system. While Immigration and Customs Enforcement keeps putting increasingly strict enforcement measures in place, more and more people with mental illness are being put into detention — and no one is really looking out for them.
In a bizarre twist, the only reason Jiang’s case is getting attention is because she happens to have the same name as the ex-wife of Jiverly Wong, a Vietnamese American who shot 13 people in April at a Binghamton immigration services center. In looking for Wong’s ex-wife, reporters stumbled across Jiang.
Yet Jiang is by a long stretch not the first (or I imagine) the last immigrant of colour with a health issue to be forgotten within the double prejudice of a system that is both xenophobic and ableist. Jiang’s case is a disturbing 2009 echo of something that happened in 1935, when the government of British Columbia deported 65 Chinese nationals back to China. The documentation of these men, kept by the courts and their psychiatrists, is for the most part is so paltry and dismissive that it is difficult to tell if all the men were actually struggling with mental health. In any case the men were deported because they fit into neither the ethnic nor medical norms of their day.
The level of bureaucracy under which Jiang is struggling multiplies when we look at the conditions under which she came to be in the US in the first place:
In their home village in Fujian province, in southeastern China, the sisters said, Jiang was married under age. She hid in their mother’s house when she was pregnant with her second son, they said, because under China’s one-child policy, the village government would have forced her to have an abortion.
“She did not deliver in a hospital, and she almost died,” said the younger sister, Yu, 33, the first to emigrate. A few days after the birth, she added, officials found Jiang, sterilized her and imposed a heavy fine. Later, divorced and desperate, Jiang borrowed the equivalent of $35,000 to be smuggled by boat to the United States, hoping to find political asylum and bring over the young sons she left with their grandmother.
But grueling months at sea left her emotionally fragile, and in the summer of 1997, about a year after her arrival, she became so despondent about her separation from her children, and the burden of her debts, that she tried to kill herself by drinking bleach, her sisters said. The police took her to Bellevue Hospital Center.
“She was afraid of being arrested, so the next day she ran away,” Yu recalled. At times over the next decade Jiang seemed better, as she moved from work in Manhattan garment factories to waitress jobs in Chinese restaurants across the country. But an effort to bring her younger son into the United States through Canada when he was 8 or 9 backfired: he was caught by Canadian officials and placed in foster care.
“He intended to join up with her,” the younger sister said of the boy, now 16. “Now it’s impossible, because he’s being adopted.”
It is impossible to disentangle the different strands of prejudice; where the psychiatric system is used to persecute people of colour, the justice system or immigration system persecutes people with disabilities, and inhumane systems in general combine to drive people to madness — or as in the case of Jiang and Junius Wilson, a combo of all of those things.
In 1932 Junius Wilson (pictured right), a 24 year-old deaf black man in North Carolina was castrated and imprisoned in the state hospital after being found guilty of rape. In 1990s, when Wilson was in his 80’s, after 65 years he was cleared of charges and released. He did not actually leave the hospital though – after all that time it had become his home.
It is not a coincidence that both Jiang’s and Wilson’s story involves the brutal violation of reproductive rights; the role forced sterilisation has played in the dehumanisation of both people of colour and people with disabilities is nauseating. You can go here, here and here to read about how the forced sterilisation of indigenous people has been used to colonise the land we live on, and you can go here to look at how contemporary birth control programs are used to try and restrict the reproductive choices of young indigenous women.
Our history is rife with examples like Jiang and Wilson; but for the most part people are forgotten in a system where it may be easier to keep someone institutionalised, rather than probe the massive bureaucracy and prejudice that keeps them there.
The original articles I have linked use the term “mentally ill” to refer to Jiang; I choose not to use that language. As with Wilson, in Jiang’s case it seems more important to recognise that it is the illness within our system that creates the real tragedy, not Jiang’s condition itself. A huge part of ability rights activism (which, as is painfully clear in both Jiang and Wilson’s case, has innumerable links with anti-racist activism) is recognising that the problem is the system, not the person with the disability; it is not our bodies that are the problem, but how we culturally define health, and how we treat people who don’t fit with that definition. In the words of Jiang’s sisters who have been fighting to Jiang’s deportation order overturned:
The exact nature of Jiang’s illness is unknown, and immigration authorities would not release her medical records, even to her lawyers, saying she had refused to sign a privacy release. Her two sisters, who live in New York, describe her as a sweet, quiet woman whose mind broke under the strain of life as an illegal immigrant seeking asylum.
When it is clear that the catalyst to madness lies just as much within the systems we have in place to deal with bodies as it does within the bodies themselves, terming something simply a “mental illness” and placing the onus only on the body just doesn’t seem to cut it.
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of
Evan wrote:
And the US media wonders why immigration numbers have dramatically fallen over the past few years. The post 9/11 immigration rules have created more hurdles to the path of citizenship. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement department treats undocumented persons like they are violent felons. Hell, the suspected Al Qaeda members at Gitmo probably have better conditions than the immigrants detained in small, dark prison cells in America. At least the detainees in Cuba have access to medical care and mental health treatment.
This is absolutely sick. Every time I return to the US from foreign travel, I want to give the first US Customs Agent I see, the middle finger. They are willing soldiers in an increasingly hostile nation against foreign citizens.
Posted 26 May 2009 at 11:14 am ¶
Katie wrote:
This just leaves me feeling hollow. I imagine what my aunt, whose mental health is variable, would go through if she tried to immigrate today as opposed to the 80s.
I can’t believe we’ve gone backwards.
Posted 26 May 2009 at 1:06 pm ¶
Celeste wrote:
Her son was adopted?!!! How the hell did that happen if they didn’t have her permission.? The whole situation is wrong but I just don’t get the “finders keepers” with the child part of it.
Posted 26 May 2009 at 1:25 pm ¶
atlasien wrote:
@Celeste: I’m not surprised… it’s a depressing part of the foster care system in America (and I guess Canada too) that immigrants in general are very vulnerable to mistakes by child protective services.
I think it’s very dependent on location. Some counties in the US would make every effort to place children back with blood family, no matter if the relatives were undocumented in this country, or in a different country.
Some aren’t as scrupulous.
It takes many years to severe parental rights so that a child is available or adoption. But once that happens the parent with terminated rights has no further say in the matter.
It’s hard to say more without knowing the details of the case. A lot of foster care adoptions are also kinship adoptions, and the article doesn’t say whether her son was adopted by relatives or not.
Posted 26 May 2009 at 1:56 pm ¶
Aishtamid wrote:
As someone who has a severe mental illness, this is just painful reading. It’s hard enough to live with without this rank prejudice against immigrants and POC to deal with. This is one of the great injustices in our country.
Dealing with a mental illness was what started getting me interested in issues of inequality and prejudice in the first place. I’m a bit ashamed to say that I only thought of this while thinking “if I were in the shoes of this immigrant or POC, I’d probably be dead.” Sad but true. I can only hope Obama does something about these injustices, but he’s given no indication that he will.
Posted 26 May 2009 at 3:54 pm ¶
Aishtamid wrote:
“The original articles I have linked use the term “mentally ill” to refer to Jiang; I choose not to use that language. As with Wilson, in Jiang’s case it seems more important to recognize that it is the illness within our system that creates the real tragedy, not Jiang’s condition itself.”
I have some issues with this. The fact that the systems is so horribly broken does not change Jiang’s reality that she is mentally ill. She is suffering because of her illness as well as because of the system. Mental illness creates plenty of tragedy on its own.
Posted 26 May 2009 at 3:57 pm ¶
Thea Lim wrote:
@Aishtamid
“Mental illness creates plenty of tragedy on its own.”
I think the experience of a mental health condition in and of itself brings suffering. But often what really compounds the trauma is being stigmatised or denied your basic rights because of your condition.
Similarly if a person has a mobility disability, the condition in and of itself may or may not cause the individual pain. But what really bars their access to work or community is a city where there is not accessible transit, accessible public buildings, accessible public transportation etc…
My intention was not to diminish the pain that a condition might bring in and of itself, but to highlight and recognise that the social stigma and lack of resources we offer people with disabilities can be just as bad as the condition itself.
Posted 26 May 2009 at 4:45 pm ¶
jsb16 wrote:
Wait, the immigration judge got pissed off because she didn’t need “State your name” translated? WTF? Is this sort of thing deliberate pandering to the crowd who think immigrants don’t learn English, or just accidental pandering to that particular crowd?
Posted 26 May 2009 at 7:15 pm ¶
Aishtamid wrote:
@Thea –
At the risk of taking over this thread, I’ll be quick…I understand and completely agree with your points about the system. Yes, the system causes her more suffering because she is mentally ill and this even more true being a POC, an immigrant and, I would argue, a woman. I just do not understand why you won’t refer to Jiang as mentally ill and how this relates to the problems of our system.
Posted 26 May 2009 at 9:50 pm ¶
Lxy wrote:
It’s fairly shocking how large the entire system of US immigrant detention and deportation really is.
Over 30,000 immigrants are incarcerated on an average day, while hundreds of thousands are deported every year–including even US citizens.
This detention system is largely off the radar screen of most people, but it’s beginning to rival its more (in)famous cousin, the American prison industrial complex.
http://www.homelandgitmo.com/
http://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/dwnmap
Posted 27 May 2009 at 3:19 am ¶
bianca wrote:
Chica Luna Productions, Inc. has produced a film directed by ManSee Kong who was part of their F-word series (F as in feminist) called “Silent Interpretations” and the description is as follows:
“When a mother secretly discovers that her young daughter has been diagnosed with depression, she’s faced with the delicate challenge of dealing with a temperamental daughter – all for the hopes of reaching out to her before it’s too late.”
From what I recall this film is a short and a silent short which I think makes it all the more powerful as we as viewers read/interpret the bodies as Thea discusses in her piece. This is the ONLY film I’ve ever seen with such content created by the community which also castes members of the community.
You can read more about it and the F-word series here
http://www.chicaluna.com/fword-films.php
Thanks Thea!
Posted 27 May 2009 at 10:53 am ¶
Thea Lim wrote:
@Aishtamid
Since I directly address the terminology of “mental illness” in my post I don’t think we are going too off-topic…
The reason why I would say “mental health condition” and not “mental illness” is because “condition” is neutral; it indicates that it is a situation that could either be good or bad. In that sense it allows people to self-identify how they feel about their disability, rather than imposing (our cultural beliefs) about health on them.
It also indicates that in a different cultural context, we might not see a mental health condition as an illness – it might not even be a bad thing.
I’ve heard mad activists refer to “mental illness” as a slur – it’s felt to denigrate the individual, insinuating that the entire problem is the individual, rather than the individual in the system. And other mad activists DON’T like it when people say a “mental illness” is not a disease – they feel like it invalidates their experience. So it’s complicated.
I say “mental health condition” because it doesn’t deny the existence of the situation. It’s not saying, “this person is experiencing totally typical body functions!” It’s noting that there’s something going on. But it’s not saying that what is going on is necessarily good or bad; that will depend on who the person is and how they feel about it, and how the person is treated.
Posted 27 May 2009 at 11:00 am ¶
Terrie wrote:
As another person with a mental illness, let me just say that this is one of those areas that’s tricky to navigate if you, yourself, are not part of the population targeted. The general rule of the thumb is to always use “people first” language. A person HAS a mental illness, but a person is not mentally ill. It makes it clear that the illness is an aspect of our lives, but it is not our entire lives.
In this case, because we don’t know the details, I would be comfortable with your use of the term “mental health condition” because we have no idea hwat’s wrong with her or how much of this is simply a mild condition complicated to clinical levels by outside factors. Extreme situational despression may not be the same as clinical depression, for example (though, if it goes on long enough, it does become so).
The problem with avoiding the word “illness” is, as you note, that it implies that there is biological basis for what’s going on. It implies that we could snap out of it if we really wanted to. There are social/environmental factors that play into the illness, but there are also environmental factors that play into cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc. Does that make them less a disease?
Posted 27 May 2009 at 12:01 pm ¶
jvansteppes wrote:
What a heartbreaking case. I hope Jiang is granted some peace. I can only imagine what it would be like to be in such a distressed place and face the further pressure of having no control over your right to live where you choose.
It makes sense to me that people want to erase the stigma and potentially dismissive nature of calling someone mentally ill but for others that may be important because it signifies that mental health issues are just as serious as other medical problems and warrant support.
An aside: as someone affected big time by mental health issues I’ve always had trouble knowing how to fit into radical disability discourse because if I could change my reality I would, which doesn’t fit into the idea that it’s only the system that we need to fix.
Posted 27 May 2009 at 4:55 pm ¶
Aishtamid wrote:
@Terrie – It’s true we don’t know the details of Jiang’s condition. Tragically, no one seems to. Mental illness is not an exact science even in the best of conditions; one of the most basic rights Jiang is being deprived of is the ability to understand her disease. I’ve gone through two diagnoses myself and experienced none of the trails she has. Without knowing what her disease really is, it makes it impossible to figure out which medication she needs or get therapy (assuming she does need a med, which seems to be the case). This compounds the difficulty she already has in getting treatment. Such a nightmare, my stomach hurts.
@Terrie/Thea – I also prefer the term “mental illness” because it acknowledges the biological basis of mental illness as a disease. I don’t agree with mad activists when they say that such a term over defines someone or promotes a victim mentality. I see it as a simple statement of reality.
Posted 27 May 2009 at 9:09 pm ¶
Terrie wrote:
@Aishtami. I totally agree that I prefer the term “illness” or “disease” because it’s accurate. As I said, I HAVE a mental illness, but I am NOT mentally ill. It is a part of me, undeniable reality that has and continues to shape me and how I see the world, but it is not the entirety.
I personally find that people who avoid the phrase are often trying to rewrite reality for their own comfort, not mine. They see it absolving us of the stigma attached to the term. But the avoidance simply confirms all the shame we seek to shed.
Posted 28 May 2009 at 10:53 am ¶
Aishtamid wrote:
@Terrie
“I personally find that people who avoid the phrase are often trying to rewrite reality for their own comfort, not mine. They see it absolving us of the stigma attached to the term. But the avoidance simply confirms all the shame we seek to shed.”
Cosign.
Posted 28 May 2009 at 6:55 pm ¶
Thea Lim wrote:
@jvansteppes
Sorry to hear that you feel there isn’t space for you within the radical disability rhetoric. I would hope that like feminism, the point of the ableist movement is to make space for all ways of conceiving of one’s disability, (as feminism is supposed to be about making space for people to express their sexuality however they want), not saying that one kind is more radical or better than another.
I also think its a continuum, there are definitely times when I have thought about any of my temporary (or off and on?) disabilities as things that help me better understand the world, and then there have also been times when I just wanted it all to go away.
That’s also the idea with “mental health condition.” I like that its intended to make space for people themselves to articulate how they view what’s going on with them, rather than saying it is either an illness or a gift. However I also recognise that it could be interpreted to be a euphemism.
In any case, I appreciate Aishtamid, Terrie and jvansteppes for weighing in, and that we got to have this back and forth!
Posted 29 May 2009 at 1:09 pm ¶
Joseph wrote:
@Thea Lim
This is heartbreaking. I blogged recently about John Kuo Wei Tchen’s excellent book New York Before Chinatown, and in it he tells a shockingly similar story about a 19th century Chinese American man named Quimbo Appo. Appo was not an illegal immigrant but a successful businessman and relatively assimilated New Yorker when he was arrested after the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act. His arrest ruined his life and set him on a downward spiral that culminated with his being sent to the Mattewan facility for the criminally insane. Tchen points out that there is no evidence that Appo was ever mentally ill but his ordeal shattered his sanity in the same way that you describe happening to Xiu Ping Jiang.
It tragic that this happened and even more so that it is so similar to case that happened over a hundred years ago.
Posted 29 May 2009 at 6:06 pm ¶
Sevenofnine wrote:
@Thea,
Thank you for your good work in bringing bringing this very important case to our attention! This case reminds me of the movie “Changeling” which is the Christine Collins story played by Angelina Jolie. Ms. Collin’s child was kidnapped in the 1920’s. The Los Angeles Police offered her a runaway child saying it was her child, and then locked her away in a mental hospital when she insisted they brought her the wrong child, who just happened to be 3″ shorter than her own.
There are legal precedents for this case under US immigration law:
In 2005 , the federal appeals court in San
Francisco ruled that
“A woman who has been subjected to genital mutilation is automatically
eligible for asylum in the United States.
…”Like FORCED STERILIZATION, genital mutilation permanently disfigures a
woman, causes long-term health problems and deprives her of a normal and fulfilling sexual life,”
Ms. Jiang underwent forced sterilization in China, when authorities found her pregnant with her 2nd son.
Like Christine Collins in the movie, Ms. Jiang’s first child was abducted, and lost to her, when when Canadian authorities put him up for adoption.
SANCTUARY FOR FAMILIES in New York offers legal services as well as shelter for trafficked women. Women are not only trafficked for prostitution. They are also trafficked for work. I believe there is a law against threatening a TRAFFICKED women with domestic violence, deportation or loss of children as a means of coercion. Why should the government be allowed to violate our own laws and imprison a trafficked woman?
Ms. Jiang was trafficked because she paid$35,0000 for her and her son to be smuggled into the US by boat.
It would also make a big difference to Ms. Jiang, if her story was covered on DEMOCRACY NOW. They have nationwide distribution on over 500 radio and TV stations.
I’m sure an Amnesty International chapter, out side of the US, would be very interested in hearing about the case of Xiu Ping Jiang!
Working together, we can help this woman!
Posted 31 May 2009 at 4:35 pm ¶