Local-Level Immigration Enforcement and Food Insecurity Risk among Hispanic Immigrant Families with Children: National-Level Evidence

Abstract

Background Local-level immigration enforcement generates fear and reduces social service use among Hispanic immigrant families but the health impacts are largely unknown. We examine the consequence of 287(g), the foundational enforcement program, for one critical risk factor of child health—food insecurity. Methods We analyze nationally representative data on households with children from pooled cross-sections of the Current Population Survey Food Supplemental Survey. We identify the influence of 287(g) on food insecurity pre-post-policy accounting for metro-area and year fixed-effects. Results We find that 287(g) is associated with a 10 percentage point increase in the food insecurity risk of Mexican non-citizen households with children, the group most vulnerable to 287(g). We find no evidence of spillover effects on the broader Hispanic community. Discussion Our results suggest that local immigration enforcement policies have unintended consequences. Although 287(g) has ended, other federal-local immigration enforcement partnerships persist, which makes these findings highly policy relevant.

Do restrictive omnibus immigration laws reduce enrollment in public health insurance by Latino citizen children? A comparative interrupted time series study

“…Moreover, passage resulted in temporary increases in enrollment among Latino children with at least one citizen parent. These findings are surprising given two bodies of research: 1) qualitative studies in which parents reported increased barriers to enrolling their children in public benefits after omnibus law passage (Koralek et al, 2009; Quiroga et al, 2014, White et al, 2014b), and 2) studies showing negative effects of local immigration enforcement on public benefits enrollment for children of noncitizens (Potochnick et al, 2016; Vargas and Pirog, 2016; Watson, 2014). …”

“…For Latino children with noncitizen parents, heightened state and local immigration enforcement was associated with a reduced probability of enrollment in Medicaid (Pedraza and Zhu, 2013; Watson, 2014) or nutrition assistance programs (Vargas and Pirog, 2016; Watson, 2014) and an increased risk of food insecurity (Potochnick et al, 2016). The enforcement measures studied in these laws are different from omnibus laws in a few important ways.…”

Health and Mental Health Effects of Local Immigration Enforcement

“…Excluding counties that have not initiated a 287(g) agreement allows us to compare counties with similar political environment towards undocumented immigrants (Potochnick, Chen, & Perreira, 2016). Further, we also estimate models that do not include any control for the 287(g) request (column 6).…”

“…suggests that local immigration enforcement increased Latino housing foreclosure rates (Rugh & Hall, 2016) and food insecurity and poverty in vulnerable families with children (Amuedo-Dorantes, Arenas-Arroyo & Sevilla, 2016, Potochnick, Chen, & Perreira, 2016Rugh & Hall, 2016).…”

Food insecurity as a basis for drafting a Strategic Food Sovereignty Plan: A case study of the Kutai Kartanegara District, Indonesia

“…According to Steckley (2016) and Li and Zhang (2017), food security occurs when the community physically, socially, and economically has continuous access to food that is adequate, safe, and nutritious so that people can meet their food requirements and be healthy and active. In contrast, food insecurity is defined as the inability to obtain sufficient and suitable food for a healthy and active life (Mammen et al 2009;Musemwa et al 2015;Azeem et al 2016;Potochnick 2016;Stephens et al 2017).…”