Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Oct;23(5):1092-1104.
doi: 10.1007/s10903-021-01162-2. Epub 2021 Mar 3.

Recasting the Immigrant Health Paradox Through Intersections of Legal Status and Race

Adrian Matias Bacong  1 , Cecilia Menjívar  2
Affiliations
Review

Recasting the Immigrant Health Paradox Through Intersections of Legal Status and Race

Adrian Matias Bacong et al. J Immigr Minor Health. 2021 Oct.

Abstract

Immigrant health research has often noted an "immigrant health paradox", the observation that immigrants are "healthier" compared to their native-born peers of similar demographic and socioeconomic profile. This paradox disappears as immigrants stay longer in the host country. Multiple arguments, including migrant selectivity and cultural and behavioral factors have been proposed as reasons for the apparent paradox. Recently, the field has focused on immigrant legal status, especially its racialization. We review the literature on the immigrant health paradox, legal status, and racialized legal status to examine how this debate has taken a more structural approach. We find that immigrant health research has taken a needed intersectional approach, a productive development that examines how different markers of disadvantage work concurrently to shape immigrants' health. This approach, which factors in immigration enforcement practices, aligns with explanations for poor health outcomes among other racialized groups, and promises a fruitful avenue for future research.

Keywords: Hispanic health paradox; Immigrant health advantage; Immigrant health paradox; Immigration; Latinos/Latinas/Latinx; Legal status; Race and racialization.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.

References

    1. Torbati Y Trump administration proposal would make it easier to deport immigrants who use public benefits. Reuters https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-benefits-exclusive/ex.... (2019). Accessed 18 Nov 2019.
    1. Derose KP, Escarce JJ, Lurie N. Immigrants and health care: sources of vulnerability. Health Aff (Project Hope) 2007;26(5):1258–68. - PubMed
    1. Hacker K, Anies M, Folb BL, Zallman L. Barriers to health care for undocumented immigrants: a literature review. Risk Manag Healthc Policy 2015;8:175. - PMC - PubMed
    1. McBride K, Bacong AM, Reynoso A, Benjamin AE, Wallace SP, Kietzman KG. Healthcare decision-making among dual-eligible immigrants: implications from a study of an integrated medicare-medicaid demonstration program in California. J Immigr Minor Health 2019;22:494–502. - PubMed
    1. Borjas GJ. Welfare reform and immigrant participation in welfare programs. Int Migr Rev 2002;36(4):1093–123.