Many US Immigrants May Defer Health Care to Avoid ICE

A Health Podyssey

Sixty-eight percent of undocumented immigrants in the United States come from Mexico or Central America. As a result, deportation policies have a disproportionate effect on people of Hispanic origin.

Immigration enforcement activity may influence behaviors like obtaining health care services; the effects of which can be felt throughout the community. On today's episode of A Health Podyssey, Abigail Friedman from the Yale School of Public Health joins the program to discuss the relationship between immigration enforcement and health care use.
In the July issue of Health Affairs, which focuses exclusively on Borders, Immigration & Health, Dr. Friedman and coauthor Atheendar Venkataramani from the University of Pennsylvania analyzed the relationship between immigration enforcement activity and health care use. They focused on the comparison between adults of Hispanic origins and those not of Hispanic origin.

The study ultimately found that aggressive deportation enforcement in the US may make undocumented immigrants and those close to them reluctant to seek medical care.

Listen to Health Affairs Editor-in-Chief Alan Weil interview Abigail Friedman from the Yale School of Public Health on the chilling effects of US immigration enforcement, where undocumented immigrants and their families forgo necessary care for fear of attracting immigration authorities’ attention.

Order your copy of the July 2021 issue of Health Affairs.

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