Health and Mental Health Effects of Local Immigration Enforcement

Abstract

We study the effect of two local immigration enforcement policies-Section 287(g) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act and the Secure Communities Program (SC)-that have escalated fear and risk of deportation among the undocumented on the health and mental health outcomes of Latino immigrants living in the United States. We use the restricted-use National Health Interview Survey for 2000-2012 and adopt a difference-indifference research design. Estimates suggest that SC increased the proportion of Latino immigrants with mental health distress by 2.2 percentage points (14.7 percent); Task Force Enforcement under Section 287(g) worsened their mental health distress scores by 15 percent (0.08 standard deviation); Jail Enforcement under Section 287(g) increased the proportion of Latino immigrants reporting fair or poor health by 1 percentage point (11.1 percent) and lowered the proportion reporting very good or excellent health by 4.8 to 7.0 percentage points (7.8 to 10.9 percent). These findings are robust across various sensitivity checks.

Policies of Exclusion: Implications for the Health of Immigrants and Their Children

“…Yet law enforcement jurisdictions did not begin to participate in immigration enforcement until 2002–03. Participation grew slowly, but by 2009 76 state and local jurisdictions (covering at least one-fifth of all U.S. counties) had 287g agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) (140). The launch of the Secure Communities (SComm) program in 2008 further amplified the role of law enforcement in immigration enforcement by requiring that local police match fingerprints of all arrested individuals with an ICE database to screen for immigration violations.…”

“…One set of quantitative studies attempts to identify the causal effects of policies. These studies often utilize variation in the timing and implementation of policies across states/counties together with variation in the populations affected by policy changes within states/counties (e.g., 63, 86, 102, 140, 146). Essentially, the difference in the effects of policies before and after implementation are compared for the populations affected by the policy change (e.g., noncitizens) versus those not affected (or less affected) by the policy change (e.g., U.S. citizens).…”

“…Watson and others used deportation data from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) over time and by U.S. regions to identify the effects of immigration enforcement efforts on the Medicaid and WIC participation of children of noncitizens (132, 141). Potochnick et al and others utilized data on whether individuals live in an area with a 287g agreement to identify the effects of these agreements on food insecurity and health (102, 140). Additionally, researchers have created scales based on the frequency and/or severity of state-level, inclusive or restrictive immigrant policies to identify the effects of these policies on economic and health outcomes among immigrants (54, 148).…”

“…Consequently, increasing deportation rates have been associated with reductions in enrollment in both the Medicaid and the Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) program among noncitizens (130, 132, 141). Reflecting the negative health consequences of increased psychosocial stress, workplace raids, increasing deportation rates, and the fear of deportation have also been significantly associated with: (1) increased poor general health, (2) poor cardiovascular health, (3) self-reported mental health problems, (4) food insecurity, (5) delays in receiving prenatal care, and (6) increases in low birthweight babies among Hispanics/Latinos, especially among those who are foreign-born Hispanic/Latino noncitizens (31, 34, 72, 86, 102, 106, 120, 133, 140). Finally, IE activities have also been associated with reduced K-12 school completion, reduced employment, increased childhood poverty, and an increased reticence to trust the judicial system and report crimes (7, 8, 67, 90).…”

The adverse health effects of punitive immigrant policies in the United States: A systematic review

“…A 2010 analysis examining the effect of detention and deportation on Latinx families and children in the wake of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, the IIRIA, and the PATRIOT Act found that higher levels of legal vulnerability corresponded to a greater impact of detention or deportation on several critical aspects of their lives, including parent emotional well-being, ability to provide financially, relationships with children, children’s emotional well-being and academic performance, and ultimately, poor outcomes for children [ 32 ]. A study assessing the health and mental health effects of Section 287(g) of the INA and the Secure Communities Program on mixed-status households identified a causal relationship between local immigration enforcement policies and adverse effects on the health and mental health status of mixed-status Latinx households [ 33 ].…”