Abstract
On the basis of a study of forty health care delivery institutions in Florida, California, and New Jersey, this paper examines the interaction between the immigration and health systems in the USA. We investigate barriers to care encountered by the foreign born, especially unauthorized immigrants, and the systemic contradictions between demand for their labour and the absence of an effective immigration policy. Lack of access and high costs have forced the uninsured poor into a series of coping strategies, which we describe in relation to commercial medicine. We highlight regional differences and the importance of local politics and history in shaping health care alternatives for the foreign born.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 3-22 |
| Number of pages | 20 |
| Journal | Ethnic and Racial Studies |
| Volume | 35 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 2012 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Cultural Studies
- Anthropology
- Sociology and Political Science
Keywords
- Unauthorized immigration
- free clinics
- health insurance
- institutionalized compassion
- language assimilation
- transnationalism
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Cite this
Portes, A., Fernández-Kelly, P., & Light, D. (2012). Life on the edge: Immigrants confront the American health system. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 35(1), 3-22. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2011.594173