Background Disparities in access to care persist for Latino youth born in the United States (US). The association of maternal characteristics, such as maternal citizenship status and insurance coverage, on youth health insurance coverage is unclear and is important to examine given the recent sociopolitical shifts occurring in the US. Methods We analyzed pooled cross-sectional data from the 2010–2018 National Health Interview Survey to examine the association of Latina maternal citizenship status on maternal insurance coverage status and youth uninsurance among US-born Latino youth. Our study sample consisted of 15,912 US-born Latino youth (ages < 18) with linked mothers. Our outcome measures were maternal insurance coverage type and youth uninsurance and primary predictor was maternal citizenship status. Generalized structural equation modeling was used to examine the relationships between maternal characteristics (maternal citizenship, maternal insurance coverage status) and youth uninsurance. Results Overall, 7% of US-born Latino youth were uninsured. Just 6% of youth with US-born mothers were uninsured compared to almost 10% of those with noncitizen mothers. Over 18% of youth with uninsured mothers were uninsured compared to 2.2% among youth with mothers who had private insurance coverage. Compared to both US-born and naturalized citizen Latina mothers, noncitizen Latina mothers had 4.75 times the odds of reporting being uninsured. Once adjusted for predisposing, enabling, and need factors, maternal uninsurance was strongly associated with youth uninsurance and maternal citizenship was weakly associated with youth uninsurance among US-born Latino youth. Conclusion Maternal citizenship was associated with both maternal uninsurance and youth uninsurance among US-born Latino youth. Federal- and state-level health policymaking should apply a two-generational approach to ensure that mothers of children are offered affordable health insurance coverage, regardless of their citizenship status, thus reducing uninsurance among US-born Latino youth.

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IMPORTANCE The association of state-level immigrant policies with uninsurance among Latino youths remains unknown. OBJECTIVE To assess the association of state-level immigrant integration and criminalization policies with health insurance coverage among US-born Latino youths by maternal citizenship. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This cross-sectional study analyzed secondary data from the American Community Survey, January 1, 2016, to December 31, 2018, for US-born Latino youths (age, Յ17 years) and their mothers (age, 18-64 years) as well as state-level indicators of immigrant integration and criminalization policies (in all 50 states and the District of Columbia). EXPOSURES Immigrant integration and criminalization policies. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The main outcome was maternal reports of youth uninsurance status at the time of the American Community Survey interview. Variation in youth uninsurance by maternal citizenship, state immigrant integration policy context, and state immigrant criminalization policy context were examined. All analyses were conducted with weighted survey data. RESULTS Of the 226 691 US-born Latino youths (115 431 [50.92%] male; mean [SD] age, 7.66 [4.92] years) included in the study, 36.64% (95% CI, 36.21%-36.92%) had noncitizen mothers. Overall, 7.09% (95% CI, 6.78%-7.41%) of noncitizen mothers reported that their youths were uninsured compared with 4.68% (95% CI, 4.49%-4.88%) of citizen mothers. Of uninsured youths who resided in states with a low level of immigrant integration policies, 9.10% (8.22%-10.06%) had noncitizen mothers and 4.75% (95% CI, 4.19%-5.37%) had citizen mothers; of uninsured youths who resided in states with high criminalization policies, 9.37% (95% CI, 8.90%-9.87%) had noncitizen mothers and 5.91% (95% CI, 5.64%-6.20%) had citizen mothers. In states with few immigrant integration policies, the probability of uninsurance among youths with noncitizen mothers was 3.3% (95% CI, 2.3%-4.4%) higher than that among youths with citizen mothers. Among youths with noncitizen mothers, the difference in the probability of uninsurance between those residing in states with a low level vs a high level of immigrant integration policies was 2.1% (95% CI, 0.6%-3.6%). Among youths residing in states with high levels of immigrant criminalization policies, those with noncitizen mothers had a 2.6% (95% CI, 1.9%-3.0%) higher probability of being uninsured compared with those whose mothers were citizens. Among youths with noncitizen mothers, the difference in the probability of uninsurance between those who resided in a state with a low level vs a state with a high level of immigrant criminalization policies was 1.7% (95% CI, 0.7%-2.7%).

Corrupt political institutions, lack of resources, and gang violence in Central America fuel the influx of asylum-seeking women and children to the United States (US). Yet, immigrant women and children are still at risk for poor health and violence in the US due to the lack of protection and support. Through a case study of a teenage girl from Honduras living in the US who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend who followed her to the US, we elucidate ways in which the US and Honduras have violated the rights of women and children. As background, we describe the context of US foreign policy towards immigration and the market for illicit drugs; and, in Honduras, the lack of appropriate healthcare, education, and legal protections. We identify human rightsbased solutions to protect the rights of women and children and provide recommendations for improvement for the US government and organizations in Honduras.