The Impact of Local Immigration Enforcement Policies on the Health of Immigrant Hispanics/Latinos in the United States

摘要

Objectives. We sought to understand how local immigration enforcement policies affect the utilization of health services among immigrant Hispanics/Latinos in North Carolina. Methods. In 2012, we analyzed vital records data to determine whether local implementation of section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and the Secure Communities program, which authorizes local law enforcement agencies to enforce federal immigration laws, affected the prenatal care utilization of Hispanics/Latinas. We also conducted 6 focus groups and 17 interviews with Hispanic/Latino persons across North Carolina to explore the impact of immigration policies on their utilization of health services. Results. We found no significant differences in utilization of prenatal care before and after implementation of section 287(g), but we did find that, in individual-level analysis, Hispanic/Latina mothers sought prenatal care later and had inadequate care when compared with non-Hispanic/Latina mothers. Participants reported profound mistrust of health services, avoiding health services, and sacrificing their health and the health of their family members. Conclusions. Fear of immigration enforcement policies is generalized across counties. Interventions are needed to increase immigrant Hispanics/Latinos’ understanding of their rights and eligibility to utilize health services. Policy-level initiatives are also needed (e.g., driver’s licenses) to help undocumented persons access and utilize these services. Federal immigration enforcement policies have been increasingly delegated to state and local jurisdictions, leading to increased enforcement activities by local police. This shift has resulted largely from the implementation of 2 federal initiatives: section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and the Secure Communities program. Section 287(g) authorizes Immigration and Custom Enforcement to enter into agreements with state and local law enforcement agencies to enforce federal immigration law during their regular, daily law enforcement activities. The original intention was to “target and remove undocumented immigrants convicted of violent crimes, human smuggling, gang/organized crime activity, sexual-related offenses, narcotics smuggling and money laundering.” 1 Added to the Immigration and Nationality Act in 1996, section 287(g) was not widely used in its first decade, but its use accelerated in the mid- to late 2000s. 2,3 The Secure Communities program differs from section 287(g) in that it does not authorize local enforcement bodies to arrest individuals for federal immigration violations. Instead, when individuals are arrested for nonimmigration matters, the Secure Communities program facilitates the sharing of local arrestees’ fingerprints and information with Immigration and Custom Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which checks them against immigration databases. If these checks reveal that an individual is unlawfully present in the United States or otherwise removable because of a criminal conviction, Immigration and Custom Enforcement takes enforcement action. 4 Some evidence suggests that both section 287(g) and the Secure Communities program contribute to Hispanic/Latino immigrants’ general mistrust of local law enforcement and fear of utilizing a variety of public services, such as police protection and emergency services. 2,5–7 Although many immigrant Hispanics/Latinos in the United States experience barriers to care because of a lack of bilingual and bicultural services, low health literacy, insufficient public transportation, and limited knowledge of available health services, 8–12 studies have suggested that individuals lacking legal status may have more difficulty obtaining health services and may experience worse health outcomes than do individuals with legal status. 13–18 Among immigrant Hispanics/Latinos, the fear of deportation, a lack of required forms of documentation, interaction with law enforcement personnel, and racial profiling are factors also associated with reduced utilization of health services and worse health. 6,19–22 Such fears lead to incomplete sequences of care, 19,20,23,24 promote the use of nonstandard and unsafe contingencies for care, 16,25–27 and contribute to public health hazards, as immigrants delay preventive care or treatment. 13,22,28 These fears further affect long-term health outcomes as immigrant Hispanics/Latinos alter their physical activity, food purchasing behaviors, and food consumption because of concerns about being in public. 29 They may withhold information from health care providers 19 and experience high levels of stress, leading to compromised mental health. 20,30,31 The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act bars undocumented or recent legal immigrants from receiving financial assistance for health insurance 32 ; thus, many will continue to remain uninsured and dependent on public health services and free clinics for a significant