US election result: Impact on healthcare for undocumented communities – Medical News Today
Posted By admin on December 7, 2020
In this perspective article, Dr. Luz Maria Garcini, Dr. Amanda Venta, and Cristina Abraham consider how the result of this years presidential election will impact access to healthcare in undocumented communities in the United States.
Disclaimer: Dr. Luz Maria Garcini is based at the University of Texas Health Science Center at the San Antonio Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine, Dr. Amanda Venta is from the University of Houston, and Cristina Abraham is based at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
The opinions presented in this article are the authors and may not reflect the views of their affiliated institutions.
Last month, a record number of Americans voted to elect the next president of the United States.
While official results will not be available until the electoral college votes on December 14, 2020, the Democratic candidate and former vice president, Joe Biden, has been recognized as the unofficial winner by media outlets and many foreign governments.
The elections have been a particularly stressful time for many vulnerable communities, including millions of undocumented immigrants unable to vote. The anti-immigrant rhetoric and fearmongering over the past few years have fueled mounting uncertainty and fear among these immigrants, as well as divisiveness among people of different backgrounds.
With any incoming administration, undocumented communities face uncertainties regarding legal protections, access to services, the availability of resources and opportunities, and the ever-looming threat of deportations and family separations.
The Democratic Party have a complex history regarding immigration policies and reforms. For instance, despite the Obama administrations passage of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Act (DACA) an immigration program granting temporary protection to undocumented individuals who came to the U.S. as children the administration was criticized for their record-high deportation rates.
Furthermore, the subsequent exclusion of DACA recipients from the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a program that provides subsidies to make health insurance more affordable, left many in the community feeling abandoned and overlooked by policymakers.
Given the Democratic Partys history of counterintuitive policies and broken promises regarding immigration, the Biden administration will have to follow through with concrete actions that align with the promises made by their political platform during the presidential campaign.
So far, Democrats have proposed to prioritize immigration reform as a key goal. The president-elect has outlined a plan for his first 100 days in office, including a number of immigration policy changes, with DACA being one.
As it currently stands, DACA is an executive branch memorandum similar to an executive order announced by former U.S. president Barack Obama as a temporary stopgap to defer deportations of young people.
On his first day in office, Biden has stated his intention to make DACA permanent by sending a bill to Congress. In addition, he aims to stop family separations at the U.S.-Mexico border and reunite families previously separated under the Trump administration.
Biden has also expressed his intention to reverse several policies on immigration, including stopping policies that force asylum seekers to remain in Mexico while awaiting immigration court hearings.
He also proposes to stop funding for a border wall and increase oversight of immigration enforcement to ensure the humane treatment of immigrants.
The proposed immigration policy changes may have tremendous implications for the health and well-being of undocumented immigrants and mixed-status families.
First and foremost, efforts to restore the human rights of immigrants by ending and remedying family separations, providing executive oversight of federal immigration agencies, and eliminating policies that currently curtail and endanger asylum seekers stand to reduce sources of trauma and toxic stress commonly experienced by immigrants.
Additionally, facilitating access for undocumented immigrants and individuals currently protected by the DACA program to purchase health insurance in the public marketplace, as proposed by Bidens planned expansion to the Affordable Care Act, is essential to reduce health risk and prevent further harm in this vulnerable population.
Lack of health insurance and undocumented legal status are well-documented barriers to healthcare use among Latinx immigrants. These are known to have detrimental consequences for their health and well-being while increasing their reliance on emergency healthcare.
The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened existing inequities in healthcare access, negatively impacting marginalized immigrants by limiting engagement in essential health services such as testing, contact tracing, and treatment-seeking.
In an effort to mitigate and reverse the negative impact of the pandemic on undocumented populations, the incoming administration has expressed a desire to address deeply entrenched discriminatory policies.
For instance, Bidens plan to reverse the public charge rule, a policy that penalizes immigrants using Medicaid and certain other federally funded programs as grounds to deny legalization, is an important first step in ensuring equitable access to healthcare.
Currently, the public charge rule discourages undocumented immigrants from obtaining timely and necessary care out of fear that utilizing government services will negatively impact their ability for legalization in the future.
While this rule does not apply to COVID-19 testing and treatment, the provision has inevitably led to widespread confusion and a lowered usage of essential health services.
If undertaken, president-elect Bidens proposed policy changes would stand to dramatically increase immigrant access to healthcare and address some of the inequities that currently exist.
Many immigrants experience significant trauma and violence throughout the migration journey, including settling and living in the U.S. Instances of depression, anxiety, and trauma-related distress are common.
Bidens platform outlines the need to address mental health needs as part of the greater conversation around healthcare and well-being. In particular, his platform advocates for stronger efforts to enforce existing laws that promote mental health parity.
On their party platform, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) assert that every American should have access to mental health resources.
As part of this vision, they support doubling investments into community health centers in underserved regions, including increased support for mental health services.
While these policies do not mention including undocumented immigrants as potential beneficiaries, the DNCs intention to increase funding for community health centers, alongside growing recognition of undocumented communities, may ultimately result in mental health policies that facilitate access for all people regardless of their legal status.
By legitimizing and addressing undocumented immigrants complex mental health needs, safety net providers will be able to build trust and provide care to address these unmet needs. Doing this requires a targeted effort to develop and train a competent workforce.
During the next presidential administration, funding to inform and address the training requirements of healthcare and community workers will be essential in developing a workforce that can effectively address the complex health needs of a considerable yet vulnerable immigrant population.
As we move forward to the next presidential era, millions of undocumented families in the U.S. will be watching the actions of the future administration, including its adherence to the promises made.
The president-elect has stated that he intends to expand the Affordable Care Act, protect DACA recipients, stop family separations at the border, reverse the public charge rule, and limit immigration enforcement activities.
While these promises show insight into undocumented immigrants needs, questions and uncertainty remain about the feasibility and implementation of these actions.
For the Democratic Party to regain the trust of undocumented communities and abide by their promises, policymakers will need to cooperate across party lines. In essence, the well-being of undocumented immigrants must cease to be a partisan issue and be addressed as a human rights concern with moral and ethical implications.
Read the original here:
US election result: Impact on healthcare for undocumented communities - Medical News Today
- A Proclamation on Jewish American Heritage Month, 2022 - January 27th, 2023
- What Is Jewish American Heritage Month? Celebrating Contributions and ... - January 27th, 2023
- Jewish American Heritage Month - National Park Service - January 27th, 2023
- Meet the Orthodox mom of seven who local Republicans want to replace George Santos - Forward - January 27th, 2023
- Florida Gov. DeSantis appoints anti-trans, anti-abortion author to Sarasota's New College board of trustees - Creative Loafing Tampa - January 27th, 2023
- Republican Jewish group calls on incoming GOP lawmaker George Santos to ... - December 25th, 2022
- Demographics of the Supreme Court of the United States - December 21st, 2022
- Native American Heritage Month: Continued Support for the Indigenous ... - November 24th, 2022
- Filipino American History Month - Wikipedia - November 24th, 2022
- Rosh Hashanah - Wikipedia - November 24th, 2022
- Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month - Wikipedia - November 6th, 2022
- The Best New Nonfiction Books Out in October 2022 - Book Riot - October 10th, 2022
- American Names - Behind the Name - October 10th, 2022
- Things to Do in DC This Weekend: Festivals, Exhibits, Tours - Washingtonian - October 10th, 2022
- Colorado has more than just Telluride Film Fest. Heres when you can see films in Denver, Vail, Breckenridge and beyond. - The Denver Post - September 19th, 2022
- A Tiny New Mexico Jewish Community Is Trying to Buy Back its Historic Synagogue Building - Jewish Exponent - September 9th, 2022
- What's going on in Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin in fall 2022 - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - September 9th, 2022
- This South Carolina College Town Is Top 10 In The Nation - kiss951.com - September 8th, 2022
- Wexner Heritage Program The Wexner Foundation - August 22nd, 2022
- Jewish Americans in 2020 | Pew Research Center - August 22nd, 2022
- Jewish practices and customs in the U.S. | Pew Research Center - August 22nd, 2022
- What You Should Know About NJ's School Supply Tax Holiday This Week - catcountry1073.com - August 22nd, 2022
- How small New England cities are standing up to white supremacists - Maine Public - August 20th, 2022
- Honoring the Turkish-Jewish Maftirim heritage - August 16th, 2022
- Voices of European Jewry: Krakow, Poland | The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle - thejewishchronicle.net - August 16th, 2022
- POLITICO Playbook: This week, it really is the economy, stupid- POLITICO - POLITICO - July 25th, 2022
- Ukraine's Centuries-Long History As Viewed Through its Currency | At the Smithsonian - Smithsonian Magazine - July 23rd, 2022
- How the American right became aligned with Hungary and its authoritarian leader - WYPR - July 14th, 2022
- The Republican Problem with the Holocaust - LA Progressive - July 14th, 2022
- Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month - July 10th, 2022
- 111 New Books to Read for Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month - July 10th, 2022
- Where to See Art in Philly This Summer - Philadelphia magazine - July 6th, 2022
- DNI Haines Welcomes 15 New Americans at Town of Vienna Naturalization Ceremony - Office of the Director of National Intelligence - July 6th, 2022
- Date Will Live in Infamy': Tri-State Leaders, Public React to SCOTUS Abortion Ruling - NBC New York - June 26th, 2022
- Callista L. Gingrich | Celebrating Jewish American Heritage Month - June 25th, 2022
- The Halakhic Argument for Reproductive Justice - Harvard Political Review - June 19th, 2022
- JEWISH AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH - The Weitzman - June 4th, 2022
- A Proclamation on Jewish American Heritage Month, 2021 - June 4th, 2022
- Jewish American Heritage Month May 2023 - National Today - June 4th, 2022
- Jewish groups hope focus on Ukraine and antisemitism will draw ... - June 4th, 2022
- City and state governments across US bolster police in wake of Uvalde massacre - WSWS - June 4th, 2022
- Fighting rabbinic ban, Jewish activists push Temple Mt. prayer closer to mainstream - The Times of Israel - June 4th, 2022
- Emory Libraries Blog | Celebrating Jewish American Heritage Month - June 2nd, 2022
- My fellow Jewish Americans, Happy Rodney Dangerfield Month | Opinion ... - June 2nd, 2022
- 8 Asian American and Pacific Islander Creatives on the Relevance of Heritage | Architectural Digest - Architectural Digest - June 2nd, 2022
- Citizens bring transportation concerns to Henrico supervisors - The Henrico Citizen - Henrico Citizen - June 2nd, 2022
- Bill to ban Palestinian flag at state-funded institutions clears initial reading - The Times of Israel - June 2nd, 2022
- The Toni Times | May 2022 - Toni Atkins - May 2nd, 2022
- Tiburon town council passes antisemitism resolution J. - The Jewish News of Northern California - April 30th, 2022
- ADL: NJ had the 2nd most antisemitic incidents in US in 2021 - News 12 Long Island - April 29th, 2022
- Why These Israeli Farmers Became Heroes After Killing Their Crops - Jewish Exponent - April 23rd, 2022
- How Can We Protect Cultural Heritage in Ukraine? Five Key Steps for the Int'l Community - Just Security - April 23rd, 2022
- An April reflection: We must fight to preserve religious liberty - Shelbynews - April 16th, 2022
- Chair and teacup from Texas synagogue hostage crisis to be displayed in exhibit - Religion News Service - April 9th, 2022
- A thriller from Mexico and a debut detective novel: The Jewish books you need to know this month - Forward - April 9th, 2022
- Phillys Wilma Theater is returning a donation from a group close to Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich - The Philadelphia Inquirer - March 24th, 2022
- Watching From the Other Side: A Ukrainian American Perspective on the Invasion of Ukraine - Shondaland.com - March 24th, 2022
- The View From Swamptown: Exploring the Morgenthau Women's connection to Saunderstown - The Independent - March 24th, 2022
- Waiting for Bowman to finally acknowledge Israel - The Riverdale Press - March 8th, 2022
- William P. Barrs Good Donald Trump and Bad Donald Trump - The New York Times - March 8th, 2022
- Is the Writing on the Wall for Denver's Oldest Neighborhood? | Westword - Westword - March 2nd, 2022
- Improv Class Sparked Their Long-Term Romance - The New York Times - February 28th, 2022
- Opinion | Disabled Ancestry Should Be Embraced With Pride - The New York Times - February 28th, 2022
- Live updates: US official: Belarus may join Ukraine invasion - Boston.com - February 28th, 2022
- NFTs, art repatriation and the VMFA: How a local museum ended up in the middle of an international controversy - Richmond.com - February 28th, 2022
- Tampa City Council will hear options for reversing approval of Hanna Avenue 'City Center' project - Creative Loafing Tampa - February 28th, 2022
- Why American Jews Love Stella D'Oro Cookies | The Nosher - February 23rd, 2022
- Known for playing East Coast Jews, this Mrs. Maisel star is a proud Southern belle - The Times of Israel - February 23rd, 2022
- Resilient Peoples & Place: Arias Hoyle on Afro Indigeneity, rap, and the 'new wave' of Indigenous expression - Juneau Empire - February 23rd, 2022
- Things to do in Cincinnati this week: Feb. 21-27 - The Cincinnati Enquirer - February 23rd, 2022
- Bhutan Earns First Oscar Nomination for Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom, Up for Best International Feature Film This Year - Tricycle - February 11th, 2022
- Jewish Book Festival: Author Horn talks about why she titled her latest book People Love Dead Jews - Vancouver Sun - February 3rd, 2022
- Opinion | The Attack at a Synagogue in Texas - The New York Times - January 24th, 2022
- One Opera Opening Would Make Any Composer Happy. He Has Two. - The New York Times - January 22nd, 2022
- Lani Guinier drew on her Black and Jewish roots in a life of outspoken activism - Forward - January 14th, 2022
- The enduring legacy of Rosenwald Schools in Charlotte and throughout the American South - WFAE - January 14th, 2022
- The 16 Best Things to Do in Miami This Week - Miami New Times - January 14th, 2022
- Weddings of the Year: Four Bethesda-area couples tie the knot in 2021 - BethesdaMagazine.com - January 4th, 2022
- Joseph Schumpeter and the Economics of Imperialism - Jacobin magazine - January 4th, 2022
- Native American Heritage Month Submissions 2021 | Denver ... - December 26th, 2021
Comments