Systemic racism and undocumented Latino migrant laborers during COVID-19: A narrative review and implications for improving occupational health

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Black and Hispanic Americans’ Work Outcomes: a Scoping Review

“…), where the chance of worksite transmission is likely to be higher, were some of the first to reopen [ 28 ]. Other types of work, such as healthcare (first responder, nurse, and aides), food preparation and service, transportation and logistics, department stores, maintenance, installation, and repair roles [ 23 , 73 , 81 ], all require face-to-face contact with the public and subsequent potential exposure to COVID-19 [ 82 ]. Black people are disproportionately represented in these types of work [ 77 ].…”

Exploration of Multilevel Barriers and Strategies That Affected Early COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing in Rural Latino Communities in Southwest Florida

“…Various community and institutional barriers were also identified in our study, including a lack of available and accessible appointments and identification requirements. Documentation status was also identified as a barrier to COVID-19 federal relief programs, such as stimulus checks and rental subsidies, among rural Latino communities, which could negatively affect living conditions (e.g., crowded living situations and food insecurity) associated with job loss during the pandemic [ 25 ]. Key informants in our study described how farmworkers are not treated as essential, despite their work being classified as “essential work,” putting them at higher risk of infection.…”

“…This finding indicates a need for more consistent policies and supportive, safe work environments. Although individual- and interpersonal-level barriers such as fear and misinformation have been highlighted, prior research and news reports have also described harmful and unsafe working conditions among undocumented Latino migrant laborers despite their categorization as essential workers [ 25 ].…”

“I thought I was going to die there:” Socio-political contexts and the plight of undocumented Latinx in the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Early in the pandemic, researchers warned that ULI could be especially vulnerable to infection due to essential work in industries where workers had little opportunity for social distancing ( Clark et al, 2020 ; Rodriguez-Diaz et al, 2020 ; Salinas & Salinas, 2022 ). Prior to the COVID-19 vaccine, Latinx suffered markedly higher problematic outcomes, at one point accounting for 30% of known diagnoses ( Rodriguez-Diaz et al, 2020 ).…”

“…For example, a recent study of rural Latinx immigrants and service providers in California showed that lack of access to safety net resources disadvantaged the population because of provider shortages and disinvestment in social services in rural areas ( Young et al, 2022 ). Also, a scoping narrative review of literature on ULI found that despite high infection rates, workers were unable to quarantine and instead suffered onerous working conditions in such industries as meat packing ( Salinas & Salinas, 2022 ). While these studies reveal Latinx hardships during the pandemic, previous studies suggest that these results might be a result of long-standing challenges such as the racialized legal status of ULI and economic policies relegating them to bad jobs ( Asad & Clair, 2018 ; Ayón, 2015 ).…”