Abstract
We examine how increased Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activities impacted newborn health and prenatal care utilization in North Carolina around the time Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act was first being implemented within the state. Focusing on administrative data between 2004 and 2006, we conduct difference-in-differences and triple-difference case-control regression analysis. Pregnancies were classified by levels of potential exposure to immigration enforcement depending on parental nativity and educational attainment. Contrast groups were foreign-born parents residing in nonadopting counties and all US-born non-Hispanic parents. The introduction of the program was estimated to decrease birth weight by 58.54 grams (95% confidence interval [CI], -83.52 to -33.54) with effects likely following from reduced intrauterine growth. These results are shown to coexist with a worsening in the timing of initiation and frequency of prenatal care received. Since birth outcomes influence health, education, and earnings trajectories, our findings suggest that the uptick in ICE activities can have large socioeconomic costs over US-born citizens.
Highlights
Over the last decade, immigration enforcement has increased dramatically in the US interior, with a large number of individuals experiencing detention and removal [1,2]
In addition to focusing on birth weight to the exclusion of other maternal health behaviors, these studies were limited in that they did not analyze a specific, existing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) policies that favor universal enforcement and discretionary police action. We complement these studies by estimating the impact of 287(g) programs on birth outcomes and prenatal care utilization. 287(g) programs are currently in use by immigration authorities, but our study focuses on the retrospective analysis of the 2006 introduction of 287 (g) programs in Mecklenburg county, North Carolina
Data from Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) project indicates that 39% of the detainers issued in the state between 2003 and 2009 were originated in Mecklenburg County
Summary
Immigration enforcement has increased dramatically in the US interior, with a large number of individuals experiencing detention and removal [1,2]. These actions by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency have impacted the psychological, social, and economic stresses faced by immigrant families, with potential deleterious effects over physical health [3,4]. One of the main instruments of this increase in immigration enforcement were federallocal partnerships, known as 287(g) programs.
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