State-level immigration and immigrant-focused policies as drivers of Latino health disparities in the United States

• Published in: Social science & medicine (1982) 2018-02, Vol.199, p.29-38
• Main Authors: Philbin, Morgan M., Flake, Morgan, Hatzenbuehler, Mark L., Hirsch, Jennifer S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Access to education; Economic policy; Emigration and Immigration - legislation & jurisprudence; Emigration and Immigration - statistics & numerical data; Health and wellness; Health care access; Health care policy; Health disparities; Health inequalities; Health Policy; Health research; Health Services Accessibility; Health services utilization; Health Status Disparities; Healthy food; Hispanic Americans; Hispanic or Latino - statistics & numerical data; Housing; Humans; Immigrant/immigration; Immigrants; Immigration; Immigration policy; Latin American cultural groups; Latino; Law and policy; Mental health services; Public policy; Race/ethnicity; Racism; Social factors; Social institutions; State-level policy; Stress; Structural racism; Systemic racism; Transportation; United States; Wages & salaries; Work environment; Working conditions
• ISSN: 0277-9536; 1873-5347
• DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.04.007

There has been a great deal of state-level legislative activity focused on immigration and immigrants over the past decade in the United States. Some policies aim to improve access to education, transportation, benefits, and additional services while others constrain such access. From a social determinants of health perspective, social and economic policies are intrinsically health policies, but research on the relationship between state-level immigration-related policies and Latino health remains scarce. This paper summarizes the existing evidence about the range of state-level immigration policies that affect Latino health, indicates conceptually plausible but under-explored relationships between policy domains and Latino health, traces the mechanisms through which immigration policies might shape Latino health, and points to key areas for future research. We examined peer-reviewed publications from 1986 to 2016 and assessed 838 based on inclusion criteria; 40 were included for final review. These 40 articles identified four pathways through which state-level immigration policies may influence Latino health: through stress related to structural racism; by affecting access to beneficial social institutions, particularly education; by affecting access to healthcare and related services; and through constraining access to material conditions such as food, wages, working conditions, and housing. Our review demonstrates that the field of immigration policy and health is currently dominated by a “one-policy, one-level, one-outcome” approach. We argue that pursuing multi-sectoral, multi-level, and multi-outcome research will strengthen and advance the existing evidence base on immigration policy and Latino health. •State-level immigration and immigrant-focused policies influence Latino health.•Policies aimed at undocumented immigrants ‘spill over’ and affect all Latinos.•State-level immigration policies shape Latino health through four pathways.•Pathways include racism and access to institutions, healthcare, and material goods.