141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

278516
Family unity, family health: A health impact assessment of federal immigration policy reform

Monday, November 4, 2013 : 8:30 AM - 8:50 AM

Sara Satinsky, MCRP, MPH , Human Impact Partners, Oakland, CA
Lili Farhang, MPH , Human Impact Partners, Oakland, CA
Jonathan Heller, PhD , Human Impact Partners, Oakland, CA
Alice Hu, MSPH , Human Impact Partners, Oakland, CA
For the first time in decades, U.S. policymakers have committed in 2013 to taking concrete steps to reform federal immigration policy. Two practices resulting from current policy are the detention and deportation of undocumented immigrants – actions that ultimately criminalize immigrants and lead to health impacts for family members who remain in the U.S. and the communities where they live. In FY 2012, more than 88,000 parents of U.S. citizen children were deported, and impacts were felt both by partners of deportees who remained in the U.S and their children. Approximately 4.5 million U.S. citizen children currently live in mixed-status households. From 2012-2013, Human Impact Partners collaborated with a wide range of partners across the nation on a health impact assessment (HIA) of proposed federal immigration policy reforms relating to detention and deportation. Preliminary results indicate that adoption of reforms could prevent dramatic decreases in household income associated with the deportation of a parent. More specifically they could prevent approximately 200,000 years of life lost among partners of deportees, and prevent decreased access to housing, food, and medical resources for families of deportees. Additionally, proposed reforms could decrease depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and fear among children. This presentation will discuss the findings, successes and challenges of an HIA on federal immigration policy. It explains how HIA contributed to policy debates and organizing campaigns by adding a health lens and recommending changes to avert negative health impacts to undocumented immigrants, their families, and communities.

Learning Areas:
Other professions or practice related to public health
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Describe the process and initial outcomes of a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) on federal immigration policy that criminalizes vulnerable populations. Explain how partners used HIA findings to introduce a health and equity lens into the conversation around immigration policy.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a Research Associate at Human Impact Partners, a non-profit organization that is a national leader in Health Impact Assessment (HIA) both in conducting assessments and in training others to do so. My HIA work includes both built environment and policy topics, such as federal immigration policy reform, code enforcement policy, transit station area planning, and proposed developments, as well as training individuals throughout the U.S. in the practice.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.