School Strategies to Support Immigrant Students, Families


Male High School Student Talking To Male Latino Teacher.

Immigrants are a part of American society, regardless of ongoing political battles. Schools play a big role in embracing and accommodating the unique socio-emotional needs of immigrant students and their families, well beyond academics. But not all school personnel are equipped to respond to these needs. Fortunately, recent guidelines from the National Dropout Prevention Center can help you and other teachers, administrators, and staff at your school understand and better meet the social, economic, and emotional needs of immigrant students and families. “Meeting the needs of such diverse immigrant child and family situations requires knowledge, commitment, and emotional energy on the parts of school administrators, teachers, and other school personnel,” according to the ...

Read More

Tell U.S. Gov’t: Protect Immigrant Families


Immigration Rally in Washington latino dad and daughter march

Everyone deserves a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible. But the Trump administration's proposed change to the Public Charge rule could penalize legal immigrants applying for green cards if they use public benefits, such as food assistance or housing, according to the National Immigration Law Center. The government wants public comments on the proposed Public Charge changes from Oct. 10 to Dec. 10, 2018, at regulations.gov. Here's how you can speak up: Copy a model comment below, drafted by our Salud America! research team. Hit "Comment Now." Paste the comment in the box at regulations.gov; be sure to to edit the comment by adding a personal story or tweaking the information before submitting, as exact duplicate comments will be discarded. Model ...

Read More

Study: Rural Immigrant Communities on the Border Suffer Poor Health


Stawberry Harvest in Central California

Foreign-born immigrants in U.S. rural borderlands are plagued by poverty, stress, discrimination and lack of access to adequate healthcare, according to a new study by the University of California Riverside. These inequities jeopardize their mental and physical health. “While the research focused on Latino immigrants in Southern California, our findings tell us a lot about structural level factors and daily life events and chronic strain that create stress for minorities and immigrants in rural communities,” Ann Cheney, lead researcher and an assistant professor in the Center for Healthy Communities at UC Riverside, said in a press release. Rural Health as a Health Disparity The South Eastern Coachella Valley is home to predominantly low-income Mexican farmworking ...

Read More

Public Charge: What it Means for Immigrants


Latino family american flag

The Trump administration recently announced draft regulation that would penalize legal immigrants applying for green cards if they use public benefits, such as food assistance, according to the Department of Homeland Security. This is called "Public Charge." What Does Public Charge Mean for Immigrants? Part of federal immigration law for over 100 years, the Public Charge test is designed to protect American taxpayers by identifying people who may depend on the government as their main source of support. For a Public Charge test, immigration officials look at all a person's circumstances in determining whether they are likely to become a public charge in the future, both positive and negative. This includes age, health, income, assets, resources, education/skills, family they must ...

Read More

Minerva Perez Busts Fear, Builds Mental Health Support for Latino Immigrants



Fear. Of being deported. Losing homes. Losing children. Minvera Perez knows Latino immigrants live in constant fear in East Hampton, N.Y. (17.1% Latino), which stresses these parents and kids—not to mention harming their physical and mental health. Perez wanted to help. How could she overcome Latino families' grim fears and stresses, and ease their mental health burden? Levels of Fear Perez is executive director of Organizacion Latino-Americana of Eastern Long Island (OLA). OLA promotes cultural, social, economic, and educational development within Long Island’s East End Latino communities, specifically Suffolk County, N.Y. (19.5% Latino). Perez and OLA are speaking up for social justice for Latino immigrants. "Right now, Latino members in our community need ...

Read More

#SaludTues Tweetchat 9/18: Let’s Improve Immigrant Health


latino boy outside

Latinos immigrants face a big lack of access to support for economic stability, education, and health. To best support Latino immigrant and all families, research shows a need to develop and support high-quality early care and education programs, home environments free of chronic stress, and poverty-reducing programs and policies. To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, let’s use #SaludTues on Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2018, to tweet about innovative ways to improve health equity and well-being for immigrant and all families! WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat─Let's Improve Immigrant Health! TIME/DATE: 1-2 p.m. ET (Noon-1 p.m. CT), Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2018 WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag #SaludTues HOST: @SaludAmerica CO-HOSTS: The Society of Behavioral Medicine ...

Read More

New College for Latino Students Without High-School Diplomas



Latinos are making big educational strides. But they still face a lot of hurdles in graduating high school, getting into college, and earning a degree. A Chicago program came up with a unique way to help. Instituto del Progresso Latino started Instituto College, a private two-year college in Chicago that will prepare Latino students with limited English and no high school diploma for middle-income positions, Inside Higher Ed reports. Instituto College aims to give hope to Latino immigrants. In August 2018, the college will welcome its first class of pilot nursing students. They will bridge with an already existing program, "Careers in Salud," which provides certified nursing assistant or registered nurse education. How Did Instituto College Come About? A new bill in ...

Read More

Free Workshops Help Latino Immigrants Interact with Police


rural organizing project in oregon

"Know Your Role." "Know Your Rights." These are the two key phrases being taught to Oregon Latino immigrants in new free workshops, which offer bilingual help on interacting with police and understanding one’s rights whether they are documented or undocumented. The workshops, led by the Rural Organizing Project in Oregon (11% Latino), help Latinos integrate in the community and build resiliency. "Oregon has become our home, and as such, we need to learn how to protect it, starting with ourselves and our own families," according to a blog post by Jessica Campbell of the organization. "Let’s not allow fear to break us! We are resilient people that made the heartbreaking choice of leaving our home countries behind, searching for opportunities to rebuild ourselves and our ...

Read More