Reflection On The Mexican Immigrant Community

During the 1970’s, Mexican Americans were involved in a large social movement called the "Chicano movement." Corresponding with the great development of the black civil rights movement, Mexican Americans began to take part in a series of different social protests in which they demanded equal rights for themselves. Composed mainly of Mexican American students and youth, these activists focused on maintaining a pride for their culture as well as their ethnicity to fuel their political campaign. Left out of this campaign initially though were Mexican immigrants.

America needs comprehensive health care reform, and immigrants should be a part of the movement.  But many American citizens might ask that pertinent question: why should they cover the expense for illegal immigrants to access health care?  The answer is plain and simple: until congress passes immigration laws that work, people are going to migrant here illegally.  And to deny migrants access to affordable health care, Americans are not only denying them their human right, they are also putting individual and national health at risk.  I believe that this country – which has the medical advancements and the facilities to ensure the health of its citizens – should reach out to its non-citizens, legal and illegal, until it

As the population of Latin America and the Caribbean raised in 1995 with a 190 percent increase (Gonzalez 199), the job markets in Mexico are becoming scarce and competitive. The living conditions of residents in provincial towns like in Cheran, “whose timber-based economy is in tatters” (Martinez 9) are greatly affected. Mexican immigrant workers are forced to cross the border and find a greener pasture in the United States, because “in 1994, Mexico was crippled by a profound-and-prolonged-economic crisis” (Martinez 8). With the huge influx of Mexican immigrant workers coming to the States in search for better jobs, the US citizens are concerned about the economic impact: jobs, government and public services. However, the Americans’ concern that the immigrants are draining the nation’s resources, is a sweeping statement, it is based on a myth. There are many recent studies that the immigrant’s population living in the United States helps the economy. Similarly, the Mexican government and immigrant families are grateful for their immigrant workers for lifting the ailing economy and the status of immigrant families. Immigrant workers, legal or illegal, are positively reshaping the economy of sending and receiving countries through these major myths.

Coming from a life of poverty and despair would be enough cause for anyone to search for a better life; a life in which there is a belief that all of your biggest dreams can come true. This is the belief that many immigrants have about the United States. They naively believe for it to be the “land of opportunity”. Originally the United States was founded and settled by immigrants. Many immigrants, such as Mexicans, Eastern Europeans, Jews, and others from countries around the world came to America to escape war, poverty, famine, and/or religious prosecution. Some also chose to immigrate to take advantage of the opportunities and promises that America held. One such major group of people is Mexicans. Being a border line country neighbor to

Although the number of illegal immigrants is substantially growing on a daily basis, the national health care policies seem to fail in addressing their medical needs. This, however, is becoming a growing challenge because of the conflicts between medical ethics and immigration laws. Despite the alluded hope for this patients group within the immigration reform, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) fails to alleviate the burden of their unmet health care needs. Advocates of their rights for health coverage argue that medical ethics and the United States moral obligations necessitate expanding coverage to all population residing within the borders of the country. Conversely, opponents deny their health coverage because their illegal status disqualify them from all public benefits. This paper goes beyond these opposing assumptions and instead, proposes a strategic plan to raise and combine resources necessary to establish a health care center for the uninsured, underinsured, and illegal immigrants in Northern California. The paper covers the establishment of this center with special focus on strategic funding, funding constraints, related state and national regulations, health policy, resources allocation, and managerial and leadership.

There have been legislative bills that have limited the access that illegal immigrants have to medical care, whether it be private insurance or with federal help such as state funded resources like Medical. For example the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 restricts medical care for illegal immigrants. Jeffrey Kullgren a medical student at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, argues that having severe limitations on health care services threatens the public’s health. He argues that the original purposes of the act were to reduce illegal immigration and preserve resources yet the act burdens health care providers and endangers the public’s health. The act stated that it was made in order to “remove the incentive for illegal immigration” and so that “individual aliens not burden the public benefits system”. These were the argument made in order to place eligibility restrictions for service made available by the local, state and federal governments. Although there were exceptions to the act, such as being able to get emergency care and immunizations, it still made getting proper health care very difficult. Placing these kinds of restrictions on people Kullgren argues has consequences on health. One is that it leads to greater waiting times and increase cost which reduces the efficiency of medical facilities. Another is that it can affect the lives of the American born children of immigrants. Although they are able to receive medical services, their parents are afraid to seek health care because they believe that they can get deported. Or they are not sure of whether their children are able to get medical coverage. Another negative result due to the act, Kullgren states, is that public resources are not being effectively used. It costs more to treat emergency situations that could have been easily prevented or that could have

Mexican Americans are the largest Hispanic group living in the United States. They make up 7.3% of the nation’s population (Newman Giger, 2013). Some of the disparities associated with this culture consist of lack of access to health care and medical insurance. Language barriers and insufficient knowledge about free clinics are other areas for concern.

This essay will provide an overview of immigrant farm workers as an example of a vulnerable population in society. A sample population demographic and background information about the community provides characteristics and context about why this group constitutes a vulnerable population. A discussion about the challenges and disparities farm workers incur when accessing health care with an assessment of the impact on federal, state, and local health care delivery systems. Key stakeholders in public and private domains are noted outlining

Like with any new agency in helping immigrants, the agency will encounter criticism for helping and addressing the issues immigrants go by with individual level theories that consider ecological

The organization I choose is Dignity Health Mercy Medical Center Redding (MMCR), located in Northern California. MMCR 2014 Community Health Needs Assessment Report is easy to read and understand. They provided the picture of the community they are serving and what are the problems that need priority. The hospital catered on communities in Shasta, Tehama and Trinity County. What I noticed is that the community they are serving is mostly Caucasian (79.6%), only 11% Hispanic. Out of the 209, 900 population, 17.3% were uninsured, 21.7% on Medi-cal with 10.9% unemployment rate. Most of the people seeking medical help go to the Emergency Department for non-acute medical services. MMCR priority is to have a community-based collaboration with other non-profit organization will address the existing problem the community is facing and to provide a long-term plan that will benefit the community in the future.

explained that for many immigrants, taking care of family comes first and because many end up

This video episode of Unnatural Causes was concerned with how the health of newly arrived Mexican immigrants diminished as a function of them spending an increasing amount of time in America. It was initially pointed out that when they first arrived in this country, their overall health was better than most Americans, but within a generation, their health would deteriorate towards the norm in America due to the influence of inherent social pressures (Unnatural Causes, 2008). A couple of hypothetical reasons were then presented in order to explain why this might happen and then one of these was expounded upon for the majority of the video.

I can address immigration in my local community by using my concentrations in engineering and math to determine how valuable some of these immigrants are to our society. With my concentration in math can develop a system of equations that calculates how much each immigrant contributes to society financially. This would look at how much they pay in taxes and also look at what they’re doing with the money have, are spending it to further economic growth or are just keeping it in their banks accounts. Through this process, I can also determine if these immigrants deserve to get their visas renewed and possibly be considered for a citizenship after they’ve lived here for over five years. Being an immigrant myself I know that most of these immigrants

My passion for global health stems from my experiences as a child. Growing up as a child of Mexican immigrants to the United States, I had the opportunity to visit family members in southern Mexico every few years. While I savored reconnecting with relatives, my awareness of inequalities bolstered with each visit. My relatives live in rural areas where economic adversity is persistent and access to quality healthcare is sparse. Contrasting my relatives’ experiences and opportunities with my own exemplified to me how one’s life is shaped by economic conditions, healthcare access, education systems, and one’s birthplace.

Overcoming Barriers to Equitable and Effective Health Care for Migrant Populations: Strategies for Health Systems