Immigrants in America
Chapter 4 illustrates how the immigrant experience is a key dimension of American life. Heather Koball uses national data to understand how policies shape the lives of immigrants. She describes two studies that analyze the impacts of policies on the health well-being of low-income immigrant families. In her look at Mexican-origin families in Phoenix, Airín D. Martínez examines the effects of racism and antagonistic immigration enforcement policies on health and stress. Kate Vickery illustrates the importance of collaborative strategies to promote a vibrant immigrant community. The chapter ends with Francesca Menes’s perspectives on Black immigrants, a diverse and understudied population. Menes illustrates how exclusionary public policies and institutional racism criminalize Black immigrants, drawing from her work in Miami to suggest an agenda for action and research.