# U.S. Immigration Policy Environment Contributions to Maternal and Child Health in the Latino Population

## TL;DR

U.S. immigration policies affect Latino maternal and child health by limiting access to healthcare and benefits, leading to long-term health disparities.

## Contribution

This work identifies immigration policy as a structural determinant of health disparities in maternal and child outcomes among Latino families.

## Key findings

- Restrictive eligibility criteria and enforcement practices deter eligible families from accessing maternal and child health services.
- Policy instability contributes to adverse birth outcomes and intergenerational health inequities.
- Maintaining the 2022 Final Public Charge Rule and waiving Medicaid waiting periods could improve equitable access to care.

## Abstract

Public health relevance—How does this work relate to a public health issue?
U.S. immigration and public benefits policies directly shape access to health care, nutrition, and economic supports for Latino families, influencing maternal, infant, and early childhood health outcomes.Policy-driven barriers and “chilling effects” reduce participation in essential services during a critical developmental period with lifelong consequences for health and well-being.

U.S. immigration and public benefits policies directly shape access to health care, nutrition, and economic supports for Latino families, influencing maternal, infant, and early childhood health outcomes.

Policy-driven barriers and “chilling effects” reduce participation in essential services during a critical developmental period with lifelong consequences for health and well-being.

Public health significance—Why is this work of significance to public health?
Latino families represent a large and growing share of the U.S. population, meaning immigration-related policy changes have broad and long-term implications for national maternal and child health indicators.By synthesizing evidence across immigration, health, and social policy, this work highlights how structural and legal determinants, rather than individual behaviors, drive disparities in maternal and child health outcomes.

Latino families represent a large and growing share of the U.S. population, meaning immigration-related policy changes have broad and long-term implications for national maternal and child health indicators.

By synthesizing evidence across immigration, health, and social policy, this work highlights how structural and legal determinants, rather than individual behaviors, drive disparities in maternal and child health outcomes.

Public health implications—What are the key implications or messages for practitioners, policy makers and/or researchers in public health?
Policies that expand eligibility and protect access to core safety-net programs for immigrant families can improve maternal and infant outcomes, reduce health disparities, and strengthen population health.Public health practitioners and researchers must consider immigration policy as a central determinant of health and advocate for policies that reduce fear, stabilize access to care, and center family well-being.

Policies that expand eligibility and protect access to core safety-net programs for immigrant families can improve maternal and infant outcomes, reduce health disparities, and strengthen population health.

Public health practitioners and researchers must consider immigration policy as a central determinant of health and advocate for policies that reduce fear, stabilize access to care, and center family well-being.

Latino families in the United States experience persistent maternal and child health (MCH) inequities driven by a fragmented immigration and public benefits policy environment rather than inherent health differences. Although most Latino children are U.S.-born citizens, many live in mixed-status families in which immigration status determines eligibility for health care, nutrition assistance, and other essential services. This narrative policy review examines U.S. immigration and public benefit policies from 1965 to 2025 to assess how eligibility rules, enforcement practices, and policy instability shape access to maternal and child health services among Latino populations. Drawing on public health, legal, and social science literature, the review documents substantial variation in access to Medicaid, CHIP, nutrition programs, and emergency care by immigration status and state policy. Findings indicate that restrictive eligibility criteria, expansions and contractions of the public charge rule, and immigration enforcement practices have produced chilling effects that deter eligible families from accessing care, reduce prenatal and postpartum service utilization, and contribute to adverse birth outcomes and intergenerational health inequities. The review concludes that immigration policy functions as a structural determinant of MCH and identifies two key policy priorities: 1. maintaining the 2022 Final Public Charge Rule that excludes public safety-net programs, and 2. waiving the five-year Medicaid waiting period for all pregnant immigrants regardless of documentation status to ensure equitable access to essential maternal and child health care.