State Immigration Policy Contexts and Racialized Legal Status Disparities in Health Care Utilization Among U.S. Agricultural Workers

Abstract

Abstract Research links restrictive immigration policies to immigrant health and health care outcomes. Yet most studies in this area focus on the impact of single policies in particular years, with few assessing how broader state-level immigration policy contexts affect groups by nativity, race/ethnicity, and legal status. Linking data from the National Agricultural Workers Survey (2005–2012) with information on state immigration policies, we use an intersectional approach to examine the links between policy contexts and health care utilization by nativity, race/ethnicity, and legal status. We also assess the associations between two specific types of state immigration policies—those governing immigrant access to Medicaid and driver's licenses—and health care utilization disparities. We find that state-level immigration policy contexts are associated with health care utilization among U.S.-born and naturalized U.S. citizen non-White Latinx agricultural workers, who report lower levels of health care utilization and greater barriers to care-seeking in more restrictive policy contexts. By contrast, we find little evidence that state policies shaped health care utilization among undocumented workers. These findings advance understanding of the impact of “policies of exclusion” on the lives of marginalized groups and underscore the importance of racialized legal status in considering the links between sociopolitical contexts and health and health care disparities.