Social and mental health risks faced by undocumented migrants during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from three surveys in France

Gosselin, A.; Longchamps, C.; Oulahal, R.; Derluyn, I.; Ducarroz, S.; Skovdal, M.; Verelst, A.; Sturm, G.; Desgrees du Lou, A.; Melchior, M.

Background The often-precarious life circumstances of undocumented migrants are likely to heighten the detrimental impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their lives. Given the paucity of research exploring how undocumented migrants are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, we set out to explore the association between being an undocumented migrant and a range of social and mental health measures. Methods Our study draws on three complementary surveys conducted among migrants in France between April 1st and June 7th 2020 (APART TOGETHER, MAKASI, ECHO; n = 716). We tested associations between eight outcome measures, covering health literacy, prevention behaviours, perceptions of government responses, livelihoods and mental health (PHQ-9 score), and the participants' legal status as either undocumented or documented. We modelled the probability of food insecurity increase, job loss, depression, and responses to SARS-COV-2 symptoms with logistic regression models, adjusted for age, gender and legal status. Results Undocumented migrants had a higher probability of experiencing food insecurity increase (aORs=10.40 [3.59, 30.16], and 2.19 [1.39, 3.50] in APART TOGETHER and ECHO), a higher probability of depression (aOR=2.65 [1.01, 6.97] in MAKASI). In all three surveys, undocumented migrants were more likely to lose their job (aORs=6.51 [1.18, 36.00], 8.36 [1.08, 64.70] and 3.96 [1.79, 9.16] in APART TOGETHER, MAKASI and ECHO respectively). Conclusion Our results suggest that the lives of undocumented migrants have been dramatically worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, exposing and amplifying the inequalities facing this group. There is an urgent need for action to address these inequalities.