The United States is a country with a rich cultural diversity and a wide range of ethnic backgrounds. Immigration has played a significant role for this configuration starting even before the nation’s birthdate.
After the U.S. independence, the first and second major immigration wave came from Europe and reached its peak between the 1880s and the 1900s. Although fewer in numbers, Asians (mainly Chinese, Japanese and Filipino) and Latin Americans (mainly Mexicans) were part of U.S. history since its first years as an independent country.
In the 1960s, more than two out of three immigrants in the U.S. were European, mainly conformed by English, Scandinavians, Irish, Germans, Eastern Jews, Poles and Italians. However, in the following decades immigrants from Latin-American and the Caribbean increased significantly until this population became the most predominant immigrant community in the nation.
Since the beginning of the nation’s history, immigration laws have been configured according to historical needs, in a sort of modeling of the country’s population and economy. Discriminatory compounds of laws based on race, ethnicity, nation of origin and physical characteristics have contributed to multiple social injustices throughout the history.
The country still faces systemic challenges to overcome deep social, economic, and political disparities that are impacting the health and well-being of our society, including immigrant groups.
The mental and physical health of individuals is affected throughout the migratory process. The causes of migration from one’s place of origin, along with socioeconomic characteristics, are reflected in the health status of those embarking on immigration. The health of the migrants also is impacted by the conditions of the place of destination such as language proficiency, racial/ethnic discrimination, legal status and working conditions. For those who migrate without legal migratory documents, the structural challenges are even more accentuated.
Immigration is a phenomenon that benefits local society. For instance, the process of demographic aging in the U.S. has been taking place for several years and stems from a deceleration in population growth, resulting from a drop in the fertility rate and an increase in life expectancy. Immigrant populations significantly contribute to the slowdown of this demographic phenomenon, which is critical for the sustainability of the U.S. economy and the maintenance of health care programs for vulnerable populations and senior groups.
In 2015, the Health Initiative of the Americas, housed in the University of California, Berkeley, shared important facts related to the health of Latino immigrants:
- Two out of 10 immigrants of Mexican origin are between 15 and 29 years old.
- 7.9 million are part of the U.S. labor force.
- Five out of 10 of those individuals in the labor force lack medical insurance.
- Six out of 10 individuals with medical insurance have public medical insurance while four have private medical insurance.
- About 80% of immigrants of Mexican origin in the U.S. have some degree of obesity.