Policy Overview
The US immigration policies have always been a subject of controversial discussion and debate that attracts different viewpoints from diverse groups. Various factors are responsible for the implementation of immigration policies. The principal reason is to curb the influx of people into other countries. The US has its immigration policies that aim at restricting entry into the country. Economic, political, and social unrest has led to people moving into the US in search of peace and the opportunities to thrive in life. The US government put in place various policies as a measure to curb such movements, especially illegal immigration (Alcalá et al., 2017). States such as California and North Carolina have policies that restrict access to medical care for undocumented immigrants. Towards this end, undocumented immigrants do not have the right to access medical care even for essential services such as HIV diagnosis and therapy, prenatal care, and emergency services. The goal is to make their stay in the US unbearable with the hope that they would leave and never come back.
Previous Policies on Migrant Healthcare and the reason they failed
Immigration laws in the US explicitly deny undocumented immigrants the rights to access health care services. Additionally, regulations and policies granted minimum and less than minimum access to healthcare to undocumented immigrants. It is worth noting that various laws, regulations, and policies prohibited undocumented immigrants from accessing health services as a way of controlling migration into the country. The aim is to restrict migration so that other people would not attempt. Undocumented migrants had restricted access to emergency care as well. The laws stipulated that undocumented immigrants had no right to seek health services and gave healthcare professionals the mandate to report documentation status whenever such people sought treatment for whatever condition (Tomás et al., 2013). Undocumented immigrants were excluded from vital services that non-profit organizations the government provided, such as prenatal care services, STI, and HIV services.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
In certain jurisdictions, undocumented immigrants mainly received health care services when in detention centers. In other countries, undocumented immigrants only have the right to access emergency services or care specified in specific terms such as urgent or immediate. In most cases, even if the mentioned services were available and law and practice permitted the undocumented immigrants to access them, the immigrants were hesitant to access them, especially the care that went emergency care. Access to any form of care normally involved administrative procedures that encompassed the completion of forms and applications that certainly hindered access to care.
It is common knowledge that undocumented immigrants have innate perceived fear of deportation and harassment by the authorities, which has a clear correlation with the lack of access to care. The restrictive policies and regulations are a threat to the immigrants and their families since they form a formidable source of intimidation and criminalization. Law enforcement agencies incline to discriminate undocumented immigrants, especially in countries where laws and regulations explicitly prohibited immigration (Korinek & Smith, 2011). The immigrants feared deportation and possible harassment and discrimination by law enforcement agencies and other non-governmental entities. Specifically, immigration raids and police checkpoints were the most significant source of fear and continued isolation from health care services.
The immigration policies have a direct bearing on access to health care, such as HIV therapy for undocumented immigrants. For cases such as HIV patients, timely detection and initiation of therapy are crucial for boosting the chances of survival and initiating the recovery of the immune system. Nevertheless, undocumented immigrants, due to the stipulated restrictions, are likely to commence therapy late, meaning that their chances of survival and making immunological recovery are limited. The reception of HIV diagnosis coupled with limited access to HIV services contributes a major role in putting the health of the immigrants and the people around them at risk. Bureaucratic requirements and limited accessibility serve as a critical barrier to receiving care.
California, which is one of the largest states in terms of economy and economic prospects in the US, has a long-standing immigration pattern from Mexico, Central America, and China. The mentioned state also has one of the most restrictive health care policies aimed at locking out undocumented immigrants. It is imperative to note that most of the immigration policies in California were implemented in the 1990s, and the aim was to criminalize undocumented immigrants (Suphanchaimat et al., 2015). The most feasible strategy way is to restrict their access to healthcare services such as STI and HIV screening services.
Over a long period, the policies have had a serious influence on the undocumented immigrant population because they underutilize health and medical services when compared to the citizens and legal immigrants found therein (Raymond-Flesch et al., 2014). The main factor for the noted pattern, underutilization of health care services, is the undocumented immigration status. States such as North Carolina and Indiana are also enacting such laws as the ones by California by preventing undocumented immigrants from accessing important services, including HIV diagnosis, therapy and prenatal care (Hacker et al., 2015). Such states employ bureaucratic measures such as having police checkpoints at the entry of health facilities and ensuring that individuals have proper documentation before accessing medical services.
Potential Policy Addressing the Healthcare Problem for Migrants
Denial of undocumented immigrants the right to access health care services correlates with the prevalence of certain conditions such as depression, overall stress, and anxiety among immigrants. Furthermore, the immigrants tend to have a more prevalent case of people with conditions such as HIV and STIs that do not have access to therapy (Martinez et al., 2015). Therefore, a policy that promotes the culture of health access for all, regardless of immigration status, is essential and helpful. The main restrictions to access to health care in this regard are the stringent immigration policies that deny undocumented immigrants access to health care. Access to healthcare, especially for immigrants, constitute a global health need that requires addressing by applying global policy frameworks (Bustamante et al., 2012). It means that an international body such as the United Nations, though the World Health Organization, should come up with policies that remove the restrictions on access to health care by some countries.
As demonstrated, various laws, regulations, and policies prohibit undocumented immigrants from accessing health services as a way of controlling migration into the country. The objective is to make migration unbearable so that other people would not attempt. Undocumented migrants had restricted access to emergency care as well. The laws stipulated that undocumented immigrants had no right to seek health services and gave healthcare professionals the mandate to report documentation status whenever such people sought treatment for whatever condition. Access to health care should be a universal right for every individual on the globe regardless of immigration status. Moreover, national immigration policies should recognize and subsequently publish the health risks associated with restriction to care for undocumented immigrants. The objectives of such a policy should be to increase access to comprehensive primary care, care for chronic diseases, and prenatal care to improve care outcomes for immigrants and the population in general. Finally, national policies should encourage people, including immigrants, to receive screening and vaccinations for prevalent infectious diseases such as Covid-19. Access to healthcare is a basic human need that should not be subject to restrictive policies regardless of immigration status. Failing to grant medical access to immigrants puts the other fraction of the populations at risk as well.
References
Alcalá, H. E., Chen, J., Langellier, B. A., Roby, D. H., & Ortega, A. N. (2017). Impact of the Affordable Care Act on health care access and utilization among Latinos. The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine , 30 (1), 52-62.
Bustamante, A. V., Fang, H., Garza, J., Carter-Pokras, O., Wallace, S. P., Rizzo, J. A., & Ortega, A. N. (2012). Variations in healthcare access and utilization among Mexican immigrants: the role of documentation status. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health , 14 (1), 146-155.
Hacker, K., Anies, M., Folb, B. L., & Zallman, L. (2015). Barriers to health care for undocumented immigrants: a literature review. Risk Management and Healthcare Policy , 8 , 175.
Korinek, K., & Smith, K. R. (2011). Prenatal care among immigrant and racial-ethnic minority women in a new immigrant destination: Exploring the impact of immigrant legal status. Social Science & Medicine , 72 (10), 1695-1703.
Martinez, O., Wu, E., Sandfort, T., Dodge, B., Carballo-Dieguez, A., Pinto, R., & Chavez-Baray, S. (2015). Evaluating the impact of immigration policies on health status among undocumented immigrants: a systematic review. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health , 17 (3), 947-970.
Raymond-Flesch, M., Siemons, R., Pourat, N., Jacobs, K., & Brindis, C. D. (2014). There is no help out there and if there is, it's really hard to find”: A qualitative study of the health concerns and health care access of Latino “DREAMers. Journal of Adolescent Health , 55 (3), 323-328.
Suphanchaimat, R., Kantamaturapoj, K., Putthasri, W., &Prakongsai, P. (2015).Challenges in the provision of healthcare services for migrants: a systematic review through providers’ lens. BMC Health Services Research , 15 (1), 390.
Tomás, B. A., Pell, C., Cavanillas, A. B., Solvas, J. G., Pool, R., &Roura, M. (2013).Tuberculosis in migrant populations.A systematic review of the qualitative literature. PLOS one , 8 (12).
