CR#8 Health Hubs
Based on my interview with Florencia, the root cause of the fear instilled in the Canal community to reach out for government-aided resources is the lengthy citizenship process. I came to this conclusion because Florencia mentioned immigration multiple times throughout the interview. When we asked her about the national issues that affect the Canal district, she automatically went to immigration. She also talked about the fear the community has about looking for aid of any sorts. Many people believe that if they go to government supported resources, the government, ICE, will find them and deport them. Florencia said, “People are afraid to learn about benefits” and this was in response to the change in the check-in process at Health Hubs. Before Health Hubs asked for ID verification to get the food, but many people did not have their citizenship, so they turned away from they help because of the fear. Now that Health Hubs does not require the verification, the amount families skyrocketed from around 90 families to around 300.
To get a better understanding the struggles immigrants have to go through to become a citizen, I did research of the process of naturalization. I am going to go into depth about the citizenship process, so I can understand the length of the process and see why many people are hesitant not to become a citizen. This lack of status can affect the access to health care insurance, which is an issue many people in the canal districts have. The process begins with applying for a visa, specifically an immigrant visa. First one must send in a petition with a sponsor or future employer. Then after that being approved, the person needs to find an agency and pay the fees. Then, one would submit their visa application form, then collect the financial and supporting documents, and then submit all of all of those. The time it takes for all the forms to get approved is about 3–4 weeks. Then once approved, one would have to complete an interview and there are many steps to do before, like get a medical check by an approved doctor. Once the interview is completed, the person is told if they are granted a visa or not. Then after all of that, one must wait 5 years at least to start the naturalization process. To begin, an application, which costs $625 and a background check of $58, must be completed and submitted to be considered for an interview. At the end of the interview, a person would be told in they are granted citizenship or not. Then one would complete an N-445 and an oath of allegiance, and then they will become a citizen of the US. All immigrants are impacted by this process, which is the majority of the Canal community. Many people are waiting for their 5 years to pass or are not even in the process, but they all want healthcare. Yet, they are restricted to care because of their status and they are afraid to look for other ways of care because of the fear of being found by the government and being deported or their children would be affected. Seeing and hearing about ICE has made this community filled with fear and this fear is preventing some from continuing the process of naturalization.
Now What? Are there ways your community partner is working to address this issue, create change, or maybe in your estimation but supported by your research, only performing triage (at least at this point in time)? What are some possible models and theories of systemic change (cite your research materials or course materials) that could be applied to address this particular root issue(s)?
