Despite how the media and politicians treat immigration as a purely political issue, for families like mine, and millions of others, immigration is instead an issue of well-being—a force that influences how one lives, copes, and ultimately survives in what we must call “home.”


Chasing hopes and opportunity in the “American Dream,” my parents arrived in this country to find something entirely different from the advertised safe-haven. They were forced into a reality defined by policies and barriers that sought to delegitimize them, and with them, their livelihoods.


Under the Trump administration, U.S. immigration policies have become more stringent, and it is likely that Latino immigrants and their children will experience significantly higher mortality and poorer mental health (Perreira and Pedroza 2019).
Forms of exclusion experienced by U.S. immigrants are obstacles to their inclusion. The strain of navigating these systems hasn’t just invaded our external environments, but has settled itself into the body and mind, shaping physical and mental health on a generational scale.

Politicizing Health

Among the factors that make integration in a new country difficult are, most prominently, the policies in place. Federal, state, and municipal laws, have not only a significant effect on immigrants’ capacity to assimilate, but a great influence on the prospective health challenges that come with the arrival to a new country. Acculturation has been shown to be beneficial for health as it is associated with greater life satisfaction and lower unhealthy food consumption. The opposite applies for failing to integrate into American society, which is ultimately more common amongst Latino immigrants and their U.S. born children (Abraído-Lanza, Echeverría, and Flórez 2016).

But there are other factors that confound the relationship between health and integration. For instance, acculturation is often defined by measuring the length of time spent living in the U.S. However, this could also be measuring one’s exposure to discrimination. Therefore, it could be concluded that discrimination causes an equally significant decline in the health of Latino immigrants and their children, who both experience the same treatment on the basis of their racial/ethnic identities (Green et al. 2022).

Discriminate experiences such as these are perpetuated by policies already in place by limiting one’s ability to assimilate. For instance, “only-English” policies directly influence the health of immigrants and their children by using language as an oppressor—this impacts their sense of belonging and mental health (Perreira and Pedroza 2019) as well as subjects them to being victims of hate crimes and violence, which have caused injuries and deaths among Latino people in the U.S (CDC – Office on Smoking and Health).

Among the most detrimental policies to a Latino immigrant’s health: deportation laws. Lawfully enforced workplace raids, for one, are associated with reduced enrollment in Medicaid and WIC programs among non-citizen immigrants, implying limited access to benefits for entire families. Moreover, the tremendous fear of deportation has also been associated with poor physical and mental health, food insecurity, and increases in low birth weight among Latino immigrants, demonstrating a significant generational impact (Perreira and Pedroza 2019)

The Generational Effect

An estimated 15.8 million U.S. born children come from immigrant parents, all of whom experience the repercussions of a downward assimilation trajectory on their health just as much as their parents do (Perreira and Pedroza 2019).

Lack of accessibility to programs like WIC and Medicaid targets the wellbeing of women and children the most. This specific demographic and their decline in health is predictive of their own children’s’ health and future access to healthcare (Perreira and Pedroza 2019). Even more negative implications for poverty and food security stem from the underutilization of public assistance because not only do immigrants struggle more to know of its availability, but even knowing it exists isn’t enough for those with a barrier to entry due to their documentation status.

A clear timeline can be drawn demonstrating how the immigrant experience pervades generations, even among citizens born in the U.S. Inequalities caused by immigration start during pregnancy. There are negative implications for Latina immigrants, specifically, who don’t receive proper prenatal care due to a lack of access (Perreira and Pedroza 2019).  

Children left behind after a family member’s deportation or detainment suffer from economic hardship, psychological distress, anxiety and depression, and the loss of educational aspirations (Perreira and Pedroza 2019).

Into adulthood, health continues on a downwards trajectory with poor self-reported health among racialized immigrants and their children who are targets of discrimination (Perreira and Pedroza 2019).

Ultimately, the relationship between immigration policy, assimilation, and health is neither incidental nor temporary—it is structural and generational.

One Policy a Day to Keep Injustice Away.

When policies restrict access to healthcare, education, employment, and public assistance, they harm lifelong trajectories for immigrants and their U.S.-born children. Because assimilation is linked to improved well-being, policy should be interpreted as a public health tool rather than a political instrument. Creating inclusive, equitable systems that promote access instead of exclusion would be an investment in the long-term health and stability of the country and its hopeful, future citizens.

 

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