Spatial Variation in Very Preterm Birth to Hispanic Women Across the United States: The Role of Intensified Immigration Enforcement

Introduction: Limited existing research suggests that immigration climate and enforcement practices represent a social determinant of health for immigrants, their families, and communities. However, national research on the impact of specific policies is limited. The goal of this article is to estimate the effect of county-level participation in a 287(g) immigration enforcement agreement on very preterm birth (VPTB, <32 weeks’ gestation) rates between 2005-2016 among US-born and foreign-born Hispanic women across the United States.Methods: We fit spatial Bayesian models to estimate the effect of local participa­tion in a 287(g) program on county VPTB rates, accounting for variation by mater­nal nativity, county ethnic density, and controlling for individual specific Hispanic background and nativity and county-level confounders.Results: While there was no global ef­fect of county participation in a 287(g) program on county VPTB rates, rates were slightly increased in some counties, primarily in the Southeast (Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina).Future Directions: Future research should consider the mechanisms through which immigration policies and enforce­ment may impact health of both immi­grants and wider communities.Ethn Dis. 2021;31(Suppl 1):333-344; doi:10.18865/ed.31.S1.333