Anti-immigrant rhetoric may put health of U.S. Latinos at risk

(This Nov. 1 story corrects researcher’s first name in paragraph 4.)

By Linda Carroll

(Reuters Health) – The White House’s anti-immigrant remarks are taking a toll on Latinos in the U.S., whether they be citizens or undocumented immigrants, a new study concludes.

In a survey of patients who showed up at three urban California emergency departments, researchers found that half of Latino citizens and legal residents as well as three quarters of undocumented immigrants feel unsafe because of comments made by the administration.

One quarter of undocumented immigrants said they were so frightened they delayed going to the emergency room for days, according to the report published in PLoS ONE.

“Statements coming from the administration and the President really do have significant effects on Latino populations,” said the study’s lead author, Dr. Robert Rodriguez, a professor of emergency medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and a physician at San…