E.g., 06/04/2026
E.g., 06/04/2026
NCIIP: Health

NCIIP: Health

Mother and daughter playing on a playground
iStock.com/Naypong

Immigrants comprise 15 percent of Connecticut’s population, and nearly 30 percent of children in the state are part of immigrant families. Having driven all state population and workforce growth over the last 15 years, immigrants are an important part of Connecticut’s present and its future. This report examines state policies and systems that aim to support upward mobility for all families, highlighting ways in which they could better meet the needs of low-income immigrant families.

Young girl talks to a child psychologist
iStock.com/Lacheev

Infant and early childhood mental health (IECMH) services can offer vital support for young children’s healthy development. Yet, young children in immigrant and refugee families often do not benefit, due in part to lower levels of health-care coverage and limited cultural responsiveness in the field. This issue brief explores the benefits and barriers to supporting these children via IECMH services, and some ways to close key gaps.

 A young nurse hugs an elderly patient in a wheelchair
iStock.com/PeopleImages

Immigrants’ eligibility for public benefits in the United States is governed by a complex patchwork of rules that make many groups of noncitizens eligible for some benefits but not others, while other noncitizens are excluded completely. This report provides an overview of immigrants’ eligibility for programs related to general assistance, health and nutrition, employment and income, education, housing, driver’s licenses, and more.

Latina teenager in medical office with clinician
iStock.com/FatCamera

As the number of unaccompanied children entering U.S. communities has increased, many have faced barriers to accessing critical medical and mental health services. This report explores common barriers to care, promising practices for overcoming them, and strategies for strengthening services. It draws on interviews and focus groups with clinicians, social workers, and others working with this population as well as one-time unaccompanied children themselves.

A woman feeds a young child sitting on a white plastic chair
Bread for the World

Home visiting programs can offer critical integration-related supports, yet many Dual Language Learner (DLL) and immigrant families are known to be underserved. With reauthorization of the Maternal, Infant, and Early Child Home Visiting (MIECHV) program looming, Congress has an important opportunity to support families with young children—many of whom are still struggling with challenges exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ChillingEffects ACSdata iStock Commentary Dec.2020
iStock

Researchers, service providers, and others have long predicted that sweeping revisions by the Trump administration to the definition of who constitutes a public charge would deter large numbers of immigrant-led households from using federal means-tested public benefits for which they are eligible. Recently released Census Bureau data show they were right: During the administration's first three years, program participation declined twice as fast among noncitizens as citizens.

Recent Activity

Cover image for All in for a Thriving Connecticut
Reports
September 2025
By  Margie McHugh, Julia Gelatt, Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh, Katherine Habben, Jacob Hofstetter and Julie Sugarman
Cover image for Supporting Immigrant and Refugee Families through IECMH Services
Policy Briefs
April 2024
By  Maki Park, Lillie Hinkle, Katherine Habben and Emma Heidorn
Cover image for Immigrants’ Eligibility for U.S. Public Benefits: A Primer
Reports
January 2024
By  Valerie Lacarte, Julia Gelatt and Ashley Podplesky
A health worker from the Philippines.
Cover image for All in for a Thriving Connecticut
Reports
September 2025
By  Margie McHugh, Julia Gelatt, Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh, Katherine Habben, Jacob Hofstetter and Julie Sugarman
Cover image for Supporting Immigrant and Refugee Families through IECMH Services
Policy Briefs
April 2024
By  Maki Park, Lillie Hinkle, Katherine Habben and Emma Heidorn
Cover image for Immigrants’ Eligibility for U.S. Public Benefits: A Primer
Reports
January 2024
By  Valerie Lacarte, Julia Gelatt and Ashley Podplesky
Cover image for the brief Understanding Poverty Declines
Policy Briefs
May 2023
By  Jeanne Batalova and Michael Fix
Cover image for SNAP Access and Participation brief
Policy Briefs
March 2023
By  Valerie Lacarte, Lillie Hinkle and Briana L. Broberg
Cover image for A Profile of Low-Income Immigrants in the United States
Fact Sheets
November 2022
By  Julia Gelatt, Valerie Lacarte and Joshua Rodriguez
Cover image for The Missing Link
Reports
July 2022
By  Essey Workie, Lillie Hinkle and Stephanie Heredia
A health worker from the Philippines.

Countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany are increasingly relying on immigrant health-care workers to fill gaps in their workforce and care for aging populations. That has created opportunities for many foreign-born doctors and nurses, but could harm their origin countries. This article examines the dynamics of global health-care worker migration, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

HealthWorkers_Flickr_JakeGreenbergUSPacificFleet

Immigrants make up a disproportionately high number of U.S. health-care workers, from doctors and nurses to home health aides. In 2018, more than 2.6 million immigrants worked in the U.S. health-care field. In the face of the coronavirus pandemic, immigrants have played a key role in the frontline response. This article explores the demographics of this group of essential workers by occupation, origin, language, education, and more.

Image of the hands of two people at a desk going over paperwork
Short Reads
September 2022
By  Jonathan Beier and Essey Workie
Bhutanese refugee sits on bed in family's apartment in New York
Short Reads
June 2021
By  Essey Workie, Mark Greenberg and Lillie Hinkle
HealthCare BrainWaste Commentary CDC
Short Reads
December 2020
By  Michael Fix, Jeanne Batalova and José Ramón Fernández-Peña
LatinoMentalHealth commentary December2020
Short Reads
December 2020
By  Randy Capps and Michael Fix
_DoctorsOfficePublicCharge
Short Reads
March 2020
By  Randy Capps, Julia Gelatt and Mark Greenberg
 family with baby daughter at home
Video, Audio
April 5, 2024

Speakers discuss the importance of infant and early childhood mental health services, highlighting approaches that have successfully connected immigrant and refugee families with beneficial and culturally relevant services. Speakers also offer recommendations to expand accessibility and responsiveness of these services.

USDA language access services website screenshot
Video, Audio
October 11, 2023

White House and Department of Health and Human Services officials join a leading language access advocate and MPI's Margie McHugh in a conversation exploring executive-branch efforts related to language access provision, upcoming actions, and opportunities to improve the provision of information and services in languages other than English in federal programs.

Image of doctor explaining a diagnosis to a teen female patient sitting on a hospital bed
Video, Audio
April 24, 2023

Marking the launch of a report by the American Academy of Pediatrics and MPI, this event examines unaccompanied children’s access to medical and mental health services post-release and offering recommendations for improvements.

Greencard US government
Video, Audio
March 5, 2020

On this webinar, MPI experts discussed the public-charge rule and released estimates of the populations that could be deemed ineligible for a green card based on existing benefits use.

FLICKR UN Women Arab States  Jordan   Empowerment through employment for Syrian refugee women in Jordan
Video, Audio
April 3, 2019

During this webinar, speakers provide an overview of an MPI policy brief that seeks to raise awareness of the intersection of trauma and early childhood development, and how U.S. early childhood programs could more effectively address this trauma in young children in refugee and immigrant households. The participants discuss efforts to integrate trauma-informed approaches into early childhood systems and how home visiting services can effectively address trauma and mental health through a two-generation approach.

Recent Activity

Short Reads
January 2026

A Trump administration proposed rule that would give government adjudicators wide discretion in deciding when public benefits use can be held against green-card applicants and prospective immigrants could discourage many eligible households, including those with U.S.-citizen children, from accessing health, nutrition, and education supports—with significant implications for well-being, as this short read explains.

Reports
September 2025

Immigrants comprise 15 percent of Connecticut’s population, and nearly 30 percent of children in the state are part of immigrant families. Having driven all state population and workforce growth over the last 15 years, immigrants are an important part of Connecticut’s present and its future. This report examines state policies and systems that aim to support upward mobility for all families, highlighting ways in which they could better meet the needs of low-income immigrant families.

Short Reads
June 2025

Evidence suggests heightened U.S. immigration enforcement will have major and lasting effects on the physical and mental health of unauthorized immigrants and their children, as they avoid essential health care. This short read examines the research and the prospect of carrying out immigration enforcement in a way that considers family impacts.

Video, Audio, Webinars
April 5, 2024

Speakers discuss the importance of infant and early childhood mental health services, highlighting approaches that have successfully connected immigrant and refugee families with beneficial and culturally relevant services. Speakers also offer recommendations to expand accessibility and responsiveness of these services.

Policy Briefs
April 2024

Infant and early childhood mental health (IECMH) services can offer vital support for young children’s healthy development. Yet, young children in immigrant and refugee families often do not benefit, due in part to lower levels of health-care coverage and limited cultural responsiveness in the field. This issue brief explores the benefits and barriers to supporting these children via IECMH services, and some ways to close key gaps.

Reports
January 2024

Immigrants’ eligibility for public benefits in the United States is governed by a complex patchwork of rules that make many groups of noncitizens eligible for some benefits but not others, while other noncitizens are excluded completely. This report provides an overview of immigrants’ eligibility for programs related to general assistance, health and nutrition, employment and income, education, housing, driver’s licenses, and more.

Articles

Countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany are increasingly relying on immigrant health-care workers to fill gaps in their workforce and care for aging populations. That has created opportunities for many foreign-born doctors and nurses, but could harm their origin countries. This article examines the dynamics of global health-care worker migration, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Video, Audio, Webinars
October 11, 2023

White House and Department of Health and Human Services officials join a leading language access advocate and MPI's Margie McHugh in a conversation exploring executive-branch efforts related to language access provision, upcoming actions, and opportunities to improve the provision of information and services in languages other than English in federal programs.