Perceived compassion fatigue levels in human service and legal professionals and paraprofessionals working with undocumented Central American immigrants in Texas

Since 2014, undocumented migration from Central America to the United States has remained a highly controversial, politically charged topic in Texas. Despite challenging work conditions, human service and legal professionals and paraprofessionals working in nonprofits and NGOs remained committed to welcoming undocumented Central American migrants in a humanitarian fashion. In previous research, Lusk and Terrazas (2015, 2021) found that these helpers were at heightened risk for compassion fatigue (CF), which includes secondary traumatic stress and burnout (Clark and Williams 2018). Thus, this research explored how these helpers’ perceived levels of compassion fatigue (CF) were influenced by their race and ethnicity, their language ability, their experiences with personal discrimination, their reactions to portrayals of undocumented Central Americans in media coverage, their role as helpers of traumatized clients during the COVID-19 pandemic, and their interactions within the bureaucratic structure of the US asylum system. Quantitative data was collected from 22 participants via a 104-item electronic survey. Purposive, snowball, and convenience sampling were used to collect quantitative data via email and social media, and analysis was done using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data was collected from 10 participants via semi-structured Zoom interviews. Using Pearlin, Menaghan, Lieberman, and Mullan’s (1981) Stress Process Model (SPM), major qualitative themes emerged related to sources, manifestations, and mediators of CF. Per the SPM (Pearlin et al. 1981), sources of CF, which resulted in significant manifestations, included interaction with the structure of the asylum system, working with highly traumatized clients during the pandemic, exposure to negative media portrayals of their clients, and lack of control over their work life balance. Similarly, helpers’ ability to fluently speak the same language as their clients, personal trauma history, and shared experiences with clients were also significant sources and manifestations of CF. While sources of CF could not always be reduced due to work demands, helpers mediated their manifestations of CF through utilizing social support, developing a strong sense of mastery, finding meaning in their work, developing work life balance, utilizing positive coping skills, and focusing on healthy trauma stewardship (Lipsky and Burk 2009).