Immigration Status

What are the gaps in policies?
Northern Virginia’s federally qualified health centers
are integrating behavioral services in their programs.
Virginia has a well-developed behavioral health
system through its Community Service Boards.
Although it is not adequate to meet the needs of
the uninsured and immigrant populations.
Health access does not equal high
quality care
The fragmentation of health systems; lack of
integration of the health system with legal, financial
and social supports; and the lack of culturally and
linguistically appropriate inter-sectoral services and
organizations contribute to health disparities, and
impose a barrier to the establishment and maintenance
of a robust navigation program for immigrants.
Xenophobia and its impact
The lack of comprehensive immigration reform and
the increasing criminalization of undocumented
immigrants places a risk to openly discuss and
document immigration status with patients. In turn
this makes it difficult to capture quantitatively the
impact of immigration status on health. The desire to
protect undocumented patients also has an impact
on advocacy, as service providers sometimes fear
repercussions or retaliations that could occur from
anti-immigrant policymakers and/or public.
Nonprofit and advocacy organizations continue to
advocate for policies, programs, and processes to
ensure that immigrants have an opportunity to live a
healthy and dignified life. ¦
Focus on Health • 48