Dismantling structural racism by advancing immigrant health

In “Strategies for Naming and Addressing Structural Racism in Immigrant Mental Health,” Cerda et al. (p. S72) make a critical call to bring a structural racism framework into efforts to promote immigrants’ mental health. Mounting public health research shows that structures and systems of racism are associated with poor health, yet there have been limited applications of a structural racism framework to immigrant health research or practice. As Cerda et al. highlight, structural racism can harm immigrants’ health through processes such as policies, workplace conditions, and treatment in mental health service settings. Building on the work of Cerda et al., we discuss how the US immigration system shapes and is shaped by structural racism. We offer recommendations for dismantling structural racism by going to the sources of racial power in research and practice, addressing the intersecting systems that harm health, and advancing antiracist multisectoral partnerships. (author abstract) #HES4A