Friend,

Sometimes, the wounds you can’t see are the toughest to treat.

Along the US border, a mental health crisis is growing for migrant families who are searching for safety after enduring violence, sexual abuse, and other forms of persecution. The fears they are facing—for their safety, for their families, for their futures—are creating an urgent need for psychological care.

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams operate throughout the migration route in the Americas, witnessing how physical and psychological suffering can turn into a paralyzing fear. Between October 2024 and April 2025, we provided over 2,200 individual mental health consultations in cities in Mexico and Guatemala, and we treated 251 people with severe conditions requiring mental health medications.

And with the crisis showing no signs of slowing, we must do more. Your contribution today will help us reach even more people in need of essential psychological care on migration routes to the US border—and those who are enduring physical and mental health challenges in communities across the globe.
 

Fear is an instinct, but eventually, it can become an illness. It stops being a healthy reaction to immediate danger and instead affects how people function day to day. Just like prolonged sadness can turn into depression, continued fear can become disabling. It’s no longer just an emotion—it starts to affect our ability to live or survive in our environment.

Paula*, a migrant on the move and survivor of sexual violence after going through the Darién Gap, says she chose not to continue her journey out of fear of facing more violence. “We already made it to Mexico. We were in Tapachula, but we didn’t go any further because we were too afraid. They said if migration police didn’t catch you, the cartel would.”

With your help, we will continue to meet the urgent physical and psychological needs of people like Paula so they can find the peace and security they need to create a better life. Donate now to ensure we have the resources to continue delivering essential mental health and medical care for people at the US border, along migration routes, and in crisis zones worldwide.

Sincerely,

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières USA

*Name changed to protect the patient’s privacy.