RESUMO
While some research on health determinants for immigrant/refugee populations has considered migration itself as a health determinant, much of this research employs constructs that focus on factors such as language, acculturation, norms, behaviours, beliefs, and social support, in a manner analogous to health risk factors for domestic U.S. populations. These are, however, often disassociated from the broader context of migration and its transnational continuum. As a contribution towards addressing that gap, this study reports on 75 life history interviews from recent Central American immigrants to assess potential health determinants in three linked domains - home country situation, migration experience, and adjustment to the U.S. These domains were conceptualised as one transnational continuum, with health outcomes potentially resulting from combined effects across domains. Interview data showed, among other results, extensive experience with/victimisation from violence in the home countries and during migration, resulting in multiple health outcomes (including PTSD) in the U.S. It also showed some patterns of resiliency, as well as added stressors from the current political environment. The results and protocol from this pilot study are useful for broader research efforts in multiple global settings, and as narratives, should also help counter negative public representations and support improved treatment.
Assuntos
Refugiados , Migrantes , Aculturação , América Central , Humanos , Projetos PilotoRESUMO
Immigration enforcement cooperation between final-destination and transit countries has increased in the last decades. I examine whether the Southern Border Plan, an immigration enforcement program implemented by the Mexican government in 2014, has curbed intentions of unauthorized migrants from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to migrate to the United States. I use the announcement of the Southern Border Plan to implement a difference-in-differences approach and compare the evolution of short-run intentions to engage in additional unauthorized crossings of Central American (treatment group) relative to Mexican deportees (comparison group). The findings suggest that increased enforcement in Mexico decreases the likelihood of attempting repeated unauthorized crossings.
Assuntos
Emigração e Imigração/legislação & jurisprudência , Emigração e Imigração/estatística & dados numéricos , Aplicação da Lei , Imigrantes Indocumentados/estatística & dados numéricos , América Central/etnologia , Humanos , México/epidemiologia , Estados Unidos/epidemiologiaRESUMO
Despite anecdotal reports of food insufficiency in the overland migration through Mexico, little is known about the frequency and extent of food insecurity during this transit. In a shelter in north central Mexico, we interviewed 95 Central American migrants traveling overland to the US regarding their experiences of food insecurity in transit. 74% experienced some degree of food insecurity, ranging from having only one meal to no food at all in one or several consecutive 24 h periods. Factors associated with relatively more severe food insecurity included more days in active transit, more severe illness impacting mobility, or travel companion illness in the prior 2 weeks. Illness was predicted by a pre-migration diagnosis of chronic disease. Understanding the factors associated with relative severity of food insecurity during overland migration can inform policies for prioritizing assistance and prevention.
Assuntos
Insegurança Alimentar , Migrantes , Abastecimento de Alimentos , Hispânico ou Latino , Humanos , MéxicoRESUMO
Given the unprecedented increase in the flow of migrants from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to the United States, this article analyzes the impact of U.S. interior enforcement on parent-child separations among Central American deportees, along with its implications for deportees' intentions to remigrate to the United States. Using the EMIF sur survey data, we find that interior enforcement raises the likelihood of parent-child separations as well as the likelihood that parents forcedly separated from their young children report the intention to return to the United States, presumably without documents. By increasing parent-child separations, interior enforcement could prove counterproductive in deterring repetitive unauthorized crossings among Central American deportees.