Deported Mexican migrants: health status and access to care

OBJECTIVE

To describe the health status and access to care of forced-return Mexican migrantsdeported through the Mexico-United States border and to compare it with the situation ofvoluntary-return migrants.

METHODS

Secondary data analysis from the Survey on Migration in Mexico’s Northern Border from2012. This is a continuous survey, designed to describe migration flows between Mexicoand the United States, with a mobile-population sampling design. We analyzed indicatorsof health and access to care among deported migrants, and compare them withvoluntary-return migrants. Our analysis sample included 2,680 voluntary-return migrants,and 6,862 deportees. We employ an ordinal multiple logistic regression model, to comparethe adjusted odds of having worst self-reported health between the studied groups.

RESULTS

As compared to voluntary-return migrants, deportees were less likely to have medicalinsurance in the United States (OR = 0.05; 95%CI 0.04;0.06). In the regression model apoorer self-perceived health was found to be associated with having been deported (OR =1.71, 95%CI 1.52;1.92), as well as age (OR = 1.03, 95%CI 1.02;1.03) and years ofeducation (OR = 0.94 95%CI 0.93;0.95).

CONCLUSIONS

According to our results, deportees had less access to care while in the UnitedStates, as compared with voluntary-return migrants. Our results also showed anindependent and statistically significant association between deportation and havingpoorer self-perceived health. To promote the health and access to care of deportedMexican migrants coming back from the United States, new health and social policies arerequired.