Mexican Immigrants Research Articles

Prevalence and resistance of Helicobacter pylori in a predominantly Hispanic population.

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is the most common chronic bacterial infection in humans. The risk of acquiring H. pylori is related to socioeconomic status and living conditions early in life. Treatment regimens must consider local antibiotic resistance patterns. Adventist Health White Memorial Hospital serves a predominantly indigent population in east Los Angeles with a large number of immigrants from South and Central America. Data regarding the prevalence and resistance of H. pylori in this population is scant. To evaluate the prevalence and resistance of H. pylori and correlate with country of origin. All gastric biopsies were obtained by a single gastroenterologist at the hospital in a consecutive manner from patients with gastritis from 2017 to 2022 and sent to various labs for evaluation. Two hundred and sixty-six patients are born in the United States, 450, 171, 70, and 30 patients are immigrants from Mexico, Central and South America (CSA), Asia, and other countries respectively. Overall, 14.65% were found to be infected with H. pylori. Rates of infection in United States-born citizens, immigrants from Mexico, CSA, and Asia are 9.02%, 18.67%, 13.45%, and 11.43% respectively, with Mexican immigrants having a relative risk of 2.3889 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.4789-3.8588, P = 0.0004] compared to those born in United States. No correlation seen between infection and length of time immigrants were in United States. Relative risk of infection in patients with no proton pump inhibitor use within the past 30 days found to be 1.9276 (95%CI: 1.3562-2.7398, P = 0.0003). Rates of resistance for clarithromycin and levofloxacin are 21.43% and 31.11%. H. pylori infection appears to be associated with low socioeconomic status and poor living conditions early in life. Clarithromycin and levofloxacin based treatment regimens should be avoided as first line therapy in this region, particularly in patients of Latin American origin.

Contextual Boundaries: Skin Tone Stratification and Skill Transferability Among Mexicans in the Age of Mass Migration.

An extensive literature has focused on the association between human, social, and economic capital and better immigrant economic attainment, and how these characteristics contribute to stratification among members of the same group. However, few studies have explored how racialization processes contribute to these within-group differences. We examine the role of intragroup differences in skin tone in stratifying outcomes among Mexican immigrants in the early twentieth century. We create a new dataset of 1910-1940 Mexican border-crossing records that we then link to the U.S. 1940 census. We use characteristics at entry to predict income in 1940 and find that-in line with dominant assimilation theories-standard measures of capital are associated with within-group attainment differences. However, we also find skin tone to be a source of within-group stratification: being perceived as having darker skin is associated with lower subsequent economic attainment than being perceived as having lighter skin. Furthermore, whereas human and social capital transcended context to allow migrants to transfer those skills anywhere, the effect of skin tone was significant only in Texas and not in other major receiving places like California. We argue that although standard measures of assimilation typically predict later outcomes, the stratifying effect of skin tone has long been a feature of Mexican immigration.

“Pues que pase lo que Dios quiera”: Strategies for Dealing with Emotional Discomfort in Undocumented Mexican Immigrants Living in the United States

Introduction. Undocumented migrants live in a state of social, legal, and political invisibility, which affects their mental health while hindering their access to health services. It is therefore essential to understand which situations are linked to their emotional discomfort and how they cope with it. Objective. To explore the sources of emotional discomfort and the strategies used to deal with it in undocumented Mexican migrants residing in an area with a recent migratory tradition. Method. Study conducted using qualitative methodology and ethnographic strategies involving four open interviews with key informants and seven semi-structured interviews with undocumented Mexican immigrants. A thematic analysis was conducted of each of them, and the main categories constructed. Results. Immigration status was the main source of emotional discomfort, creating sadness, anger, and frustration associated with direct acts of racism and discrimination. Religiosity or spirituality, relaxation, avoidance, self-control (“gritting your teeth and bearing it”), and seeking supportive social networks were the most commonly used strategies for coping with this discomfort. Discussion and conclusions. It would be advisable to implement strategies that increased the possibilities of access to professional care, when necessary, without immigrants perceiving a threat due to their immigration status and to promote more robust social networks in the community, as well as virtual networks that could provide an alternative source of care and accompaniment from their place of origin.

“We need more!”: Mexican Immigrants’ Tacit Knowledge and Mississippi’s Beef Cattle Industry

“We need more!”: Mexican Immigrants’ Tacit Knowledge and Mississippi’s Beef Cattle Industry

Inmigración mexicana a Estados Unidos antes, durante y después de la COVID-19

El objetivo del presente estudio es conocer los cambios ocurridos en la migración mexicana hacia Estados Unidos antes, durante y después de la COVID-19. El periodo de antes abarca de 2017 a 2019, el de durante corresponde a la etapa de confinamiento en 2020 y el de después se refiere al momento en que la vida cotidiana comenzó a normalizarse en 2021. En su realización se utilizaron diversas fuentes de información, tanto del país de origen como del país de destino. Entre los principales hallazgos de la investigación se destaca que la migración desde México mostraba una tendencia de recuperación previa a la contingencia y que no se detuvo a pesar de las restricciones migratorias durante el confinamiento de 2020. Además, empezó a hacerse evidente la importancia de la migración documentada de trabajadores agrícolas. En 2021, los diversos flujos migratorios de mexicanos hacia el norte continuaron aumentando, y del total de detenidos por la Patrulla Fronteriza, tres de cada cuatro no fueron deportados. Estamos presenciando el inicio de una nueva etapa migratoria que podría denominarse sistema migratorio mixto.

Mexican Immigrant Couples’ Marital Quality and Coparenting Satisfaction: The Role of Spouses’ Incongruence in Familism Values

With a sample of 120 Mexican immigrant couples, this study tested an estimated actor-partner interdependence model (APIM) to examine the associations between spouses’ perceptions of marital quality (i.e., marital warmth and marital negativity), spousal incongruence in familism values, and spouses’ coparenting satisfaction. The model simultaneously explored the moderating effects of spouses’ incongruence in familism values to ascertain the extent to which the within-couple match between spouses’ cultural values impacted the association between spouses’ marital quality and coparenting satisfaction. Significant and positive actor effects from marital warmth to coparenting satisfaction were found. A significant interaction qualified the actor effect for wives. Spouses’ incongruence in familism values moderated the association between wives’ marital warmth and their coparenting satisfaction in such a way that the link was stronger for couples with low spousal incongruence in familism values (i.e., couples in which spouses were in close agreement on familism values). Marital negativity and incongruence in familism values were not significantly related to spouses’ coparenting satisfaction. Findings underscore the link between spouses’ marital warmth and their coparenting satisfaction and suggest that effective coparenting is nested within the context of a warm and supportive marital relationship.

Resiliency and Barriers to Successful Aging Among Middle-Aged Mexican Immigrants Residing in a Rural Agricultural Community.

The Latino population is one of the largest, most diverse, and fastest-growing demographic groups in the United States. Although Latinos enjoy longer life spans and reduced mortality risk relative to non-Hispanic Whites, they have higher rates of chronic health conditions such as diabetes and dementia and live more of their older years with poor health and disability. Such inequities point to the need for this research focused on examining resiliency strategies and barriers to successful aging among various U.S. Latino subgroups. This qualitative study used thematic content analysis to examine resiliency strategies and barriers to successful aging among Mexican immigrant women (n = 40) residing in an underserved agricultural community and entering mid-life (mean = 49 years old). With regards to barriers to successful aging, 3 themes emerged: (1) stressful lifestyle in the United States compared to the participants' home countries; (2) stress from expectations at home; and (3) stress due to work and the various components around work. The following 4 resiliency strategies emerged: (1) family as a motivation for moving forward in life and focusing on the success of children; (2) having a positive mindset; (3) praying to God for strength to overcome obstacles; and (4) self-care. Despite experiencing barriers to successful aging, participants practice various resiliency strategies to age successfully. Because many of the barriers identified are related to poverty-related stressors, systemic solutions addressing the social determinants of health are needed.

Salud sin Fronteras: Identifying Determinants of Frequency of Healthcare Use among Mexican immigrants in Southern Arizona.

Guided by Andersen's Behavioral Model of Health Services Use (BMHSU), this study aimed to identify determinants of post-migration healthcare use among a sample of Mexican immigrants in a US-Mexico border region in Southern Arizona, while considering pre-migration health and healthcare experiences. A non-probabilistic convenience sample of 300 adult Mexican immigrants completed a telephone survey to assess healthcare practices. Multivariable logistic regressions were fitted to determine adjusted relationships between frequency of care and predisposing, enabling, need, and contextual factors as well as personal health practices. Overall, participants had a 79% probability of receiving healthcare "at least once a year" after migrating to Southern Arizona. Receiving post-migration healthcare was associated with predisposing, enabling, need, contextual factors, and personal health practices (p < 0.05). Consistent with BMHSU, our findings suggest that frequency of healthcare is not only a function of having post-migration health insurance but is also shaped by a complex array of other factors. The results of this study shed light onto potential areas to be leveraged by multifactorial sociocultural interventions to increase Mexican immigrants' frequency of healthcare services use.

The maintenance of mexican traditional medicine practices among mexicans in southern Arizona

Mexicans in the United States have been reported to maintain practices of Mexican traditional medicine at comparably higher rates than most other populations, including other Latino sub-groups. In this cross-sectional study, we examined the pre- and post-migration traditional medicine practices of first-generation immigrants from Mexico living in southern Arizona. Our objective was to assess how migration affected Mexican immigrants' ethnomedical practices and to better understand the mechanisms and motivating factors for the post-migration maintenance of practice. We designed a survey instrument based off prior qualitative data on traditional medicine practices and translated it into Spanish. The survey measured the rates and frequency of six domains of lay healing practices: herbal medicine, healing foods, self-medication with over-the-counter medicine, and three types of specialty healers (curandero/a, and sobador/a, or partero/a), and asked questions about knowledge sources, reasons for maintaining practice post-migration, and to what extent participants believed the remedies were effective. The research team fielded the telephone-based survey from April 2022 to February 2023 to 300 first-generation adult Mexican immigrants residing in southern Arizona. A series of proportions tests were conducted to examine differences in reliance on lay healing pre- and post-migration as well as to assess differences between women's and men's lay practices. The data indicate a general, but moderated decline in lay medical practices post-migration, with the usage of expert healers declining at much higher rates than the three self-care domains. Women tend to use herbal medicine and healing foods at higher rates than men post-migration. This cross-sectional quantitative study confirms prior research indicating that traditional medicine practices are heavily relied upon by Mexican origin people both pre- and post-migration. These findings suggest that public health messaging and medical providers should better address and harness Mexican immigrants' lay medical practices in order to optimize health in this population.

Distinction, difference, and the place(s) of Latine working-class immigrants in the creative city

ABSTRACT This urban ethnography examines the “place(s)” of working-class Latine immigrants who participate in the production of cultural spaces in the creative city. In order to better understand their power to shape the space and the city itself, “place” is framed using theories of habitus and the production of space. Moving beyond professional elite artists and complicating the established categories of artist and worker, the analysis focuses on 37 in-depth interviews with first- and second-generation Latine immigrant artists and cultural workers. Based in the City of Santa Ana’s historic and gentrifying downtown, the research examines different locations from which working-class mostly Mexican immigrants help produce the creative city while also accepting and dissenting their various political, economic, and social positions. Latine immigrants in the creative city inhabit multiple physical and social locations with shifting levels of visibility and mobility shaping both minimal and maximal forms of difference. Although mostly temporary, expressions of alternative subjectivities and dispositions can exhibit distinctions associated with cultures of solidarity for working-class immigrant communities facing both exploitation and displacement.

The Effect of Human Capital, Economic Anxiety, And Political Ideologies on Immigrant Health Perceptions: a Between-Subjects Experimental Approach

This research examines the factors that influence health-related stereotypes against immigrants, with a focus on how human capital, conservative ideology, and economic anxiety impact these perceptions across different immigrant groups in the United States. The study uses Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression analysis of data from the 2020 Collaborative Multi-racial Post-Election Survey to assess attitudes towards all immigrants, as well as specifically Mexican and Chinese immigrants. Objective: Health stereotypes often depict immigrants as carriers of diseases and burdens on society, which affect public opinion and policy. This study aims to analyze the roles of human capital, political ideology, and economic conditions in shaping these stereotypes. Method: Using OLS regression, the analysis explores the association between stereotyping and various predictors, including conservative ideology (measured objectively and subjectively), human capital, and economic anxiety. Disaggregating the data by immigrant group allows for nuanced insights into the interplay of these factors. Results: The results reveal moderate levels of stereotyping across all groups, with variations by immigrant origin. Objective measures of conservative ideology show a strong correlation with increased stereotyping, particularly against Mexican immigrants. Higher human capital is associated with reduced stereotyping, while economic anxiety consistently exacerbates negative stereotypes across all groups. Furthermore, Republican affiliation and racial identity are correlated with heightened stereotyping, especially against Chinese immigrants. Discussion: The findings highlight the complexity of the factors contributing to health-related stereotypes and emphasize the importance of addressing educational and economic elements to mitigate these biases. Tailored interventions that take into account the distinct dynamics of each immigrant group are crucial for reducing stereotypes and improving integration and health outcomes.

“There is No Time” to be a Good Biocitizen: Lived Experiences of Stress and Physical Activity Among Mexican Immigrants in New York City

This paper explores the ways in which Mexican immigrants experience, narrate, and describe stress and the extent to which it impacts their efforts at engaging in physical activity using a biocitizenship framework. Data were derived from a mixed-method study among Mexicans living in New York City recruited from a large Catholic church. The qualitative sample of 25 participated in quantitative and qualitative components of the study and as such we include some of these quantitative indicators as descriptors. Our main qualitative findings reveal that study participants experience stress and time constraint as factors that contribute to the waning of their physical and mental well-being. As such, time constraints for many of our participants were among the factors that contributed to high perceived levels of stress. They attributed this to their difficulty maintaining a physically active lifestyle due to factors like the fast-paced lifestyle in New York, working long hours, and not having enough time to exercise, though some important differences in narratives were noted across gender. Findings have implications for interventions aimed at improving the health of immigrants in general and Mexican immigrants in New York City specifically.

De Espiritistas y Curanderos Debates sobre medicina tradicional y salud mental latina en Texas y Nueva York durante los 1960

In October of 1963, John F. Kennedy signed the Community Mental Health Act to expand preventive and early mental healthcare to historically underserved communities that overwhelmingly belonged to minority groups. Suspicious of the role that psychologists and psychiatrists had played in the pathologization of racial and ethnic minorities since the 19th century, Latine patients refused to use the community mental health centers and instead continued resorting to traditional healers for emotional support. This article traces the professional debates about the relationship between traditional healing and mental health carried out in 1960s Texas and New York. Following both contexts, I argue that the rising political mobilization among Latines in both states and the popular cries to restrict Mexican immigration into the United States shaped the professional attitudes toward traditional healing. These debates led to two contrasting policies. One that celebrated spiritists and incorporated them into the arsenal of mental health providers in New York City’s Puerto Rican neighborhoods. Another one that berated curanderos and called for their regulation due to their proximity to indigeneity, and foreignness, as well as their popularity among lower-class Mexican migrants arriving to Texas.

Successful Retention Strategies for Research Targeting Hispanic/Latinx (Including Recent Immigrants) in the Midwest Region of the United States.

Recruiting and retaining Hispanic/Latinx (H/L) participants, specifically undocumented immigrants, is challenging in part because of the mistrust and fear in participating in research studies. Additionally, only a few longitudinal studies describe the recruit and retention strategies among Mexican and Central American immigrants aiming to expand the knowledge base about those underprivileged groups; this was the objective of the 6-year longitudinal VidaSana study. In the present methods report, we specifically omit the presentation of results from the empirical data findings of the VidaSana study: the present report describes the process and offers a subjective appraisal of multiple and complementary approaches in the recruitment and retention strategies for Hispanics living in the Midwest region of the United States, including very recently arrived immigrants. This study was able to effectively recruit and retain (81.7%) a cohort of Mexican and Central American immigrants within a period of 36 months. Our recruitment and retention performance were successful in the context of the hostile environment against immigration that dominated the national landscape at the time of our study. The present methods report of the VidaSana study provides an insightful understanding in recruiting and, in particular, retaining H/Ls and H/L recent immigrants into longitudinal studies.

Ins and Outs: Immigration Policies in Early 20th Century Mexico and the Arrival of Spanish Immigrants and Exiles

Abstract: In the early decades of the 20th century, Mexican immigration laws and government circulars dictated populations believed to be economically, racially, and intellectually favorable. Determined to be a population able to easily assimilate into Mexican society based on their ability to maintain Mexico's mestizo demographic identity, the government gave preferential treatment to Spaniards seeking the opportunity to migrate. The Mexican government sought to protect the nation's mixed-identity through the promulgation of restrictive immigration policies, establishing limitations for populations believed to be too "other" to seamlessly integrate and bring wide-spread benefit to the nation. To understand Mexico's provision of aid to Spanish exiles and refugees unable or unwilling to return to their homeland during and after the Spanish Civil War, this article examines the Ley de Migración, the Ley de General Población, and other immigration laws promulgated between 1926 and 1936 and their efforts to control who was able to enter the country.

Migrar sin salir de casa en Michoacán

Michoacán is one of the federal entities that has historically presented high migratory intensity and consequently is located in the first places regarding the attraction of remittances that enter the country annually. There is a close vertical link between localities in Michoacán and those North American cities where Mexican immigrants are concentrated; even more intense than with those cities in its immediate surroundings. The hypothesis supported in this article is that the exchange is such that, for many inhabitants, it is possible to experience a cultural dynamic strongly conditioned by the migratory dynamic, without having crossed to the other side.

Documented and Undocumented Skilled Mexican Immigrants and the Global Recession in Los Angeles Metropolitan Region

The main purpose of this article is to analyze the labor market integration of documented and undocumented skilled Mexican immigrants in Los Angeles Metropolitan region during the global recession of 2008. To this end, we use a mixed methodological approach. From the quantitative perspective, we analyze data from the American Community Survey. The qualitative approach includes 20 open-ended interviews with Mexican skilled immigrants. The main findings reveal that skilled immigrants were not negatively affected by the global recession. In addition, legal immigration status turned out to be the most important factor in differentiating those who obtained a skilled occupation and those who did not. However, some immigrants, including those who were undocumented, were able to strategically use their investment in human capital and their access to professional social networks in order to obtain professional occupations.

The Impact of the 100-mile Border Enforcement Zone on Mexican Americans in Arizona

Based on qualitative interview data with Mexican American and White participants, this article examines the impact of immigration-related policies on the U.S.-born adult children of Mexican immigrants. Building on Dunn’s concept of a low-intensity conflict zone, we argue that the militarization of the border carries consequences for Mexican American border residents. Becoming collateral subjects to a system of racialized legal violence, they experience the suspension of constitutional rights through racially motivated arbitrary stops, interrogations, and searches. The frequency and intensity of these experiences lead to anxiety, frustration, and powerlessness, and chips away at their emotional well-being.

Vulnerability or Resiliency? A Two-Wave Panel Analysis of Social Network Factors Associated with Glycemic Levels among Mexican Immigrants in the Bronx, NYC, Before and During COVID-19.

Latinos have high rates of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) yet are characterized as having health-promoting social networks. The impacts of COVID-19 on personal networks were complex, especially in urban areas with high proportion of immigrants such as the Bronx in NYC. Our objective was to test the extent to which network characteristics increase vulnerability or resiliency for glycemic control based on data gathered from Mexican-origin Bronx dwellers. We used two-wave panel study analyzing self-reported personal social networks (n=30participants; 600network members) and HbA1c levels via dried blood spots in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, and in 2021, a time after initial lockdowns and when the pandemic was still ravaging the community of study. Regression models adjusted for individual-level variables including sociodemographic and health indicators (i.e., physical health including COVID-19 and mental health). We found that an increase in the proportion of network members with diabetes predicted an increase in participant's HbA1c levels from 2019 to 2021 (β=0.044, p < 0.05). Also, a greater proportion of network members consuming "an American diet" in 2019 predicted a decrease in participant's HbA1c levels (β=-0.028, p < 0.01), while a greater proportion of network members that encouraged participants' health in 2019 predicted an increase in participant's HbA1c levels (β=0.033, p < 0.05). Our study sheds light on specific social network characteristics relevant to individual diabetes outcomes, including potential longitudinal mechanistic effects that played out at the peak of the COVID-19 crisis.

"No sufro, estoy bien/I am not suffering, so I am doing OK": A mixed method exploration of individual and network-level factors and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) among Mexican American adults in New York City.

The prevalence of type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is 2-3 times greater among Mexican Americans than non-Latino whites, and Mexican Americans are more likely to develop T2DM at younger ages and experience higher rates of complications. Social networks might play a crucial role in both T2DM etiology and management through social support, access to resources, social engagement, and health behavioral norms. To quantitatively identify the social network features associated with glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) in a community sample of Mexican immigrants residing in New York City, and to explore the extent to which these quantitative findings converge with qualitative narratives of their lived experiences. This study used a convergent mixed methods design. To collect personal network data, we used EgoWeb, and obtained 1,400 personal network ties from 81 participants. HbA1c readings were collected using dried blood spots and categorized according to the laboratory criteria of the American Diabetes Association. Additional survey data were collected using Qualtrics software. To investigate the significance of the network-level factors after accounting for the socioeconomic and demographic individual-level factors that the literature indicates to be associated with T2DM, we used a multiple regression model on quantitative data sources. For the qualitative portion of the study, we selected a subset of individuals who participated in the quantitative portion, which represented 500 personal network ties from 25 participants. We conducted in-depth interviews guided by the visualization of these ties to explore who was helpful or difficult in managing their health and health behaviors. Individual-level indicators associated with lower HbA1c scores were body mass index (β = -0.07, p<0.05), and healthy eating index scores (β = -0.03, p<0.02). The network-level predictor associated with higher HbA1c levels was the percentage of diabetic alters in the network (β = 0.08, p <0.001, with a 25% increase in the percentages associated 2.0 change in HbA1c levels. The qualitative data highlighted that most of the diabetes-related information diffused through the social networks of our participants was related to dietary practices, such as reducing sugar and red meat consumption, eating out less, and reducing portion sizes. Notably, even among those with elevated levels and diabetes-related health complications, HbA1c was not considered a part of the lay descriptions of good health since they were not "suffering." Participants regarded doctors as the ultimate authority in diabetes care, even if they had supportive members in their personal networks. Our study provides quantitative evidence for the significant role of diabetic network members in the etiology and management of T2DM among Mexican Americans. Our qualitative findings suggest important ley terms for T2DM management and the importance of physicians, which could be included in in future social networks studies seeking to diffuse diabetes-related health information for T2DM prevention and management efforts in this population.