The Health Impacts of the Trump Administration among California Immigrants

Author

Claudia M. Calhoon, CUNY School of Public HealthFollow

Date of Degree

6-3-2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Public Health (DPH)

Department

Health Policy and Management

Advisor(s)

Sean J. Haley

Committee Members

Dylan Roby

Alice Sardell

Hongbin Zhang

Subject Categories

Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration | Public Health | Social Justice

Keywords

immigration, structural racism, immigration policy, critical race theory, health determinants, California, political environment

Abstract

Immigration policy was a marquee issue in the US presidential administration of Donald Trump. Trump’s administration employed both policy and rhetoric related to immigrants to mobilize voters, alter immigration policies and practices, and sustain a narrative of a nation under attack by immigrants. Administration officials were able to undertake these approaches because of existing immigration law, but they did so in more explicitly punitive ways than in recent administrations. The goal of this dissertation is to explore the health impacts of the administration’s practices and their effects. Paper 1 analyzes the immigration rhetoric and policies of US president Donald Trump and his administration using critical race theory (CRT) perspectives and finds that Trump’s political ascendency illustrates several core tenets of CRT. Paper 2 demonstrates the adverse effects of punitive immigration policies and rhetoric, and explores their variable effects among white, Asian, and Latino/a immigrants, by income levels, and by immigration status. Paper 3 tests the impact of exposure to the political environment characterized by an anti-immigrant federal policy environment following the election within the general population, and by exploring whether those effects varied by race and ethnicity. We find that many different kinds of people in California experienced heightened distress, that all low-income immigrants experienced disruptions in access to food, and that certain groups of both immigrant and US-born populations reported less confidence in having access to a doctor following the election. These findings support the case that immigration policies that are punitive or restrictive undermine efforts to improve public health.

Recommended Citation

Calhoon, Claudia M., "The Health Impacts of the Trump Administration among California Immigrants" (2023). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/sph_etds/93