Deportation and depression: 'It would be sad if she goes to Mexico and commits suicide there'

Suicide attempts and mental health crises define experiences of young migrants fighting to resolve their legal status in America

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Viridiana Martinez was accepted into her dream school a decade ago. It was the worst day of her life.

Martinez was an undocumented migrant. With no green card, she was still able to attend an American high school and become an honors student a perfect scenario, until she found out that colleges could not accept her without a visa. Getting the acceptance letter from North Carolina State University was, she says, like a funeral.

It wasnt like the typical teenage drama, like liking a boy, or trying to figure out who your friends are. I was dealing with being undocumented and what the weight of that was and then also coming to terms with the fact that I had been assaulted. That impacted the way I trusted and communicated with everybody.