Actions to respond to a troubled immigration environment

Migrants make up over 14% of the US population. Migrants' perceptions and misperceptions of laws and impressions of the immigration environment influence their health and healthcare use. There are action steps that healthcare and public health providers can take to prevent migrants from avoiding care and to support their health in a troubled immigration environment. These include: making it clear that healthcare and public health entities do not have a role in immigration enforcement; communicating record transfer, access, and storage policies; clarifying rules regarding immigration penalties and health service use; and ensuring that migrants enjoy the right of confidentiality afforded to US residents. Public health representatives should expand preparedness efforts to include the potential for future hostile immigration-related discourse and legislation.