Primary Submission Category: Migration
Intersecting immigrant policy exclusions and immigrant health
Authors:Â Maria-Elena De Trinidad Young Sharon Tafolla May Sudhinaraset Michelle Nakphong Kathryn Kietzman
Presenting Author: Maria-Elena De Trinidad Young*
There is growing evidence that restrictive immigrant policy environments are associated with immigrant health. Yet, there is little population-based knowledge regarding the extent to which immigrants are directly impacted by policies. Exclusions produced by policies, such as being targeted by enforcement or lacking labor protections, may be critical health mechanisms. We sought to examine immigrants’ patterns of exclusions across policy sectors, including health care, employment, and law enforcement, and their associations with health. We conducted a population-based survey of Latinx and Asian foreign-born adults in California (n=2,010), measuring 23 exclusionary experiences resulting in being targeted or having rights violated (e.g., racial profiling, deportation, wage theft, denial of public benefits). We then conducted a latent class analysis and identified 6 respondent groups with distinct clusters of exclusions across sectors. Lastly, we conducted multiple regression analyses of the association between exclusion groups and indicators of health status and health care access. Over half of the sample reported experiencing at least one exclusion and four groups had exclusions in multiple sectors (e.g., health care and labor). Compared to the group that had no exclusions, the groups that had exclusions across all policy sectors and that had intersecting labor and enforcement exclusions were more likely to report psychological distress, lack a usual source of care, and delay needed care. Our findings contribute population-level insights into how immigrant policy likely manifests in lives of immigrants, leading to health and health care inequities within immigration populations.