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Immigration Processes and Health in the U.S.: A Brief History

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Encyclopedia of Immigrant Health

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Introduction

Concern with contagion from travelers from afar existed in the colonies that were to become the United States, as evidenced by colonial laws mandating quarantine of foreign passengers and the exclusion of those who were ill or disabled (Proper, 1967). And, ever since its formation as an independent nation, the United States has promulgated laws that exclude prospective immigrants from entry into the United States on the basis of specified health conditions. Even individuals who have legally immigrated to the United States but not yet obtained United States citizenship have been and continue to be potentially inadmissible because of certain health conditions. Although the specified health conditions have changed over time, three themes are evident throughout this history: (1) fear that citizens of the United States would be contaminated by germs and disease carried by foreigners to the United States; (2) concern that the admission into the United States of individuals...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Sana Loue

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  1. Sana Loue
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Sana Loue

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Martha Sajatovic

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Loue, S. (2012). Immigration Processes and Health in the U.S.: A Brief History. In: Loue, S., Sajatovic, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Immigrant Health. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5659-0_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5659-0_2

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