摘要：This commentary highlights how immigrants who are linguistically isolated, have limited social networks, and lack legal immigration status experience unique health risks in disaster zones. Research on immigrants and disasters tends to focus on immigrants with these characteristics who are residents of disaster-affected areas, disaster recovery workers, or both. We review the sparse research literature and provide examples of innovative but underresourced programs that reduce immigrants’ exposure to disaster-related health hazards and economic exploitation in the recovery. We conclude with recommendations for advancing these initiatives while, simultaneously, addressing the anti-immigrant policies that contribute to these disaster-related inequities. Since Hurricane Andrew struck south Florida in 1992, disaster researchers have shown that racial and ethnic minorities, women, and those with few economic resources fare worse in disasters. 1–3 A more recent body of research on disasters and public health investigates the experiences of immigrants in the context of concurrent public health threats posed by environmental disasters and anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies. This research focuses on members of the immigrant population who are assumed to be most at risk: those with limited English-language proficiency, with few social ties to coethnic community members, or who lack authorized or permanent immigration statuses. Immigration status is particularly relevant in the current sociopolitical climate, in which two immigrant programs have been terminated and immigration enforcement has intensified. These programs are the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals—a program that allows some individuals who entered the United States as minors to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and to be eligible for a work permit—and Temporary Protected Status—a humanitarian program whose basic principle is that the United States should suspend deportations to countries that have been destabilized by war or environmental disaster. Termination of these programs creates a climate of fear in immigrant communities that makes them reluctant to take advantage of federal, state, and local resources. In a disaster context, these risk factors expose immigrants, as both residents and disaster recovery workers, to greater risks before, during, and after the event. In many places, however, resources to support preparedness, response, and recovery initiatives for immigrant communities are scarce or nonexistent. In this commentary, we review public health research on immigrants in disaster zones and conclude with recommendations for mitigating the public health effects of immigrants’ unique risk factors.
