{"id":267260,"date":"2026-08-21T15:32:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T19:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/?post_type=bu-article&#038;p=267260"},"modified":"2026-08-21T17:06:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T21:06:40","slug":"anti-immigrant-public-charge-policy-may-have-contributed-to-rise-in-hiv-among-hispanic-populations","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/news\/articles\/2026\/anti-immigrant-public-charge-policy-may-have-contributed-to-rise-in-hiv-among-hispanic-populations\/","title":{"rendered":"Anti-immigrant \u2018Public Charge\u2019 Policy May Have Contributed to Rise in HIV among Hispanic Populations"},"content":{"rendered":"\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin sphnews-block-editorial-leadin is-style-text-over-image has-media has-box has-media-focus-center-middle has-text-position-x-left has-light-theme\">\n\t\t<div class=\"container-lockup\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-leadin-media\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"2121\" height=\"1414\" src=\"\/sph\/files\/2026\/08\/immigration.jpg\" class=\"\" alt=\"Patient getting a blood test from a doctor\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2026\/08\/immigration.jpg 2121w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2026\/08\/immigration-636x424.jpg 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2026\/08\/immigration-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2026\/08\/immigration-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2026\/08\/immigration-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2026\/08\/immigration-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2026\/08\/immigration-755x503.jpg 755w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2026\/08\/immigration-1500x1000.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2026\/08\/immigration-900x600.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2026\/08\/immigration-450x300.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2026\/08\/immigration-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2026\/08\/immigration-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2026\/08\/immigration-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2121px) 100vw, 2121px\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-outer\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-inner has-opacity-80\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wp-prepress-tag\">All News<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"head\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Anti-immigrant \u2018Public Charge\u2019 Policy May Have Contributed to Rise in HIV among Hispanic Populations\u00a0<\/strong>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"deck\">Following the Trump administration\u2019s 2018 announcement of changes to a public charge rule that would penalize immigrants for using public health services, antisanctuary counties in the US saw a 16.8-percent increase in HIV cases among Hispanic populations.<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar js-block-editorial-metabar sphnews-prepress-layout-metabar\">\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-date\">August 21, 2026<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-credits\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul data-credit-type=\"By\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/news\/authors\/jillian-mckoy\/\">Jillian McKoy<\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-share js-bu-prepress-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-action\"><\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\n<p>Aggressive immigration policies and rhetoric have defined both the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wgbh\/frontline\/article\/a-guide-to-some-major-trump-administration-immigration-policies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">first<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/stuartanderson\/2026\/08\/17\/trump-officials-now-restricting-all-legal-immigration-categories\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">second<\/a> Trump administrations, and a new study led by researchers at the School of Public Health and the University of South Carolina reveals that this hardline immigration agenda may have contributed to an increase in HIV transmission among Hispanic populations in US counties that amplify and enforce federal anti-immigrant policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/epdf\/10.1111\/1468-0009.70113\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Published in the journal <em>Milbank Quarterly<\/em><\/a>, the study focused on the first Trump administration\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.federalregister.gov\/documents\/2018\/10\/10\/2018-21106\/inadmissibility-on-public-charge-grounds\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2018 announcement<\/a> of changes to the public charge rule, which greatly expanded previous versions of the rule by permitting officials to deny green cards to non-citizens based on their usage of public benefit programs such as Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), housing assistance, and other factors. The analysis compared county-level HIV incidence before and after the announcement of this rule, dividing counties into three categories based on their political environment and support of Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) policies: sanctuary counties (limited support of ICE), antisanctuary counties (formal contracts with ICE to enhance policy enforcement), and baseline counties (general support of ICE within common practice).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After the announcement of the new public charge rule in 2018, the study showed a 16.8-percent increase in HIV incidence among Hispanic populations living in antisanctuary counties, compared to baseline counties. The researchers also examined HIV incidence by race, and found no comparable increase among Black populations, which further indicates that post-2018 immigration policies and rhetoric uniquely affected Hispanic communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These results reveal how anti-immigration policies can impede public health policy and prevent the US from achieving its longstanding goal to end the HIV epidemic.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFear and the chilling effects of anti-immigrant policies can deter people from seeking healthcare, testing, prevention, and treatment,\u201d says study senior author <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/profile\/carlos-rodriguez-diaz\/\">Carlos Rodriguez-Diaz<\/a>, chair and professor of community health science at BUSPH. \u201cThese findings underscore a critical reality: efforts to end the HIV epidemic cannot succeed when immigration policies make communities afraid to access essential services.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These findings also provide important context and insight as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uscis.gov\/newsroom\/alerts\/uscis-issues-guidance-on-making-public-charge-inadmissibility-determination\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">new public charge rule<\/a> under the current Trump administration will soon go into effect in September. The new rule rescinds the Biden-era changes to the rule, which had limited inadmissibility factors for green card applications. This policy will once again permit officials to consider use of public benefit programs in determining whether green card applicants should be denied legal status on the basis that they will be unable to financially support themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOur findings show that public charge rule changes affect access to healthcare and, ultimately, health outcomes,\u201d says study lead and corresponding author <a href=\"https:\/\/sc.edu\/study\/colleges_schools\/public_health\/faculty-staff\/herring-jordan.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jordan Herring<\/a>, who conducted the study while at Stanford University School of Medicine, and is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Health Services Policy and Management at the University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health. \u201cImmigration law is confusing and hard to understand. Many immigrants err on the side of immense caution\u2014even those who are legally present. The new proposed public charge rule changes are even more ambiguous than before and will likely invoke further and more severe chilling effects, leading to worse access to healthcare and widening disparities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For the study, Rodriguez-Diaz and Herring analyzed county-level HIV incidence rates in sanctuary, antisanctuary, and baseline US counties from 2010\u20132022, using data from AIDSVu, an online mapping tool that visualizes the effects of the HIV epidemic in US communities. New cases of HIV appeared to rise only in antisanctuary counties, and declined in sanctuary and baseline counties.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While safety precautions and strains on the healthcare system led to delays in healthcare testing and treatment services during the COVID-19 pandemic, the researchers were able to determine that pandemic-related challenges did not substantially contribute to the observed rise in HIV cases among Hispanic residents in antisanctuary cities. When restricting the analysis to 2010-2019 (the period prior to the pandemic), the team still calculated a 12.8-percent increase in Hispanic HIV incidence in antisanctuary counties. The results also showed a decrease in prescription rates for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)\u2014medication that is taken to lower the risk of contracting HIV\u2014in antisanctuary counties, although the association was not strong.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Broadly, the study reveals the need for the US to better address the social and structural barriers that prevent people from accessing HIV care and prevention services. Hispanic individuals account for nearly one-third of all new HIV infections in the US and are more likely to learn their HIV status at a late stage. Importantly, the researchers also emphasize that hostile policies and xenophobic language that targets immigrants and restricts their basic rights can lead to negative health consequences beyond HIV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cImmigration policy is health policy,\u201d says Rodriguez-Diaz. \u201cWhen laws and rhetoric push people into the shadows, they do not make communities safer and undermine the health of us all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories is-style-card has-two sphnews-block-editorial-relatedstories\">\n\t\t<h3 class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-title\">Related<\/h3>\n\t\t<ul class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-list\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"600\" height=\"362\" src=\"\/sph\/files\/2025\/03\/immigrant-mothers-600x362-1.png\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Mother and son walking in the city.\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-category\"><span>mental health<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/news\/articles\/2025\/immigrant-mothers-of-young-children-struggle-to-juggle-family-needs-and-their-own-health\/\" class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-title-link\">Immigrant Mothers of Young Children Struggle to Juggle Family Needs and their Own Health<\/a><\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-date\">March 28, 2025<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1195\" height=\"720\" src=\"\/sph\/files\/2023\/09\/trump-wall-600.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Trump stands beside the border wall with Mexico\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2023\/09\/trump-wall-600.jpeg 1195w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2023\/09\/trump-wall-600-636x383.jpeg 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2023\/09\/trump-wall-600-1024x617.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2023\/09\/trump-wall-600-768x463.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2023\/09\/trump-wall-600-755x455.jpeg 755w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2023\/09\/trump-wall-600-900x542.jpeg 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1195px) 100vw, 1195px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-category\"><span>immigrant health<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/news\/articles\/2023\/trumps-anti-immigrant-rhetoric-policies-contributed-to-decline-in-healthcare-among-children-of-immigrants\/\" class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-title-link\">Trump&#8217;s Anti-immigrant Rhetoric, Policies Contributed to Decline in Preventive Healthcare Visits among Children of Immigrants<\/a><\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-date\">September 15, 2023<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Aggressive immigration policies and rhetoric have defined both the first and second Trump administrations, and a new study led by researchers at the School of Public Health and the University of South Carolina reveals that this hardline immigration agenda may have contributed to an increase in HIV transmission among Hispanic populations in US counties that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15205,"featured_media":267266,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"bu_prepress_billboard":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term_manual":""},"tags":[2178,3649,2449,3138,2285,5214,2525,4006],"bu-publication":[3516],"sphnews-article-category":[3519,3525,3531,3540],"sphnews-topic":[],"bu_edition":[],"media_type":[],"profile_tax":[4462],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/267260"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bu-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15205"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267260"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/267260\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":267311,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/267260\/revisions\/267311"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267260"},{"taxonomy":"bu-publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-publication?post=267260"},{"taxonomy":"sphnews-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sphnews-article-category?post=267260"},{"taxonomy":"sphnews-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sphnews-topic?post=267260"},{"taxonomy":"bu_edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu_edition?post=267260"},{"taxonomy":"media_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media_type?post=267260"},{"taxonomy":"profile_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/profile_tax?post=267260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}