The Third Net

The Hidden System of Migrant Health Care

Lisa Sun-Hee Park author Erin Hoekstra author Anthony M Jimenez author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:New York University Press

Published:14th May '24

Should be back in stock very soon

This paperback is available in another edition too:

The Third Net cover

Reveals the presence of an informal system of valuable support and care for marginalized migrants
The United States’ health care system not only consists of a formal safety net, but also an informal and disjointed network of organizations that offer basic care to millions of migrants. This “Third Net” provides free or low-cost health care for the undocumented, low-income, and uninsured migrants who are excluded from the formal system. This groundbreaking study sheds light on the existence of the Third Net and its implications for the overall inequalities in the US health care system.
The Third Net is made up of diverse providers with varying levels of service, organizational culture, and mission. These providers operate in unconventional settings, such as mobile clinics on wheels; pop-up clinics in repurposed spaces; and unlicensed, makeshift clinics run by health activists. Despite their unassuming appearances, these clinics are vital resources for marginalized populations that often go unnoticed by the general public, revealing the shortcomings of our formal health care system.
By examining these alternative health care spaces, the authors expose the inequities entrenched in the broader health care system and urge a reevaluation of it entirely in order to address these injustices.

"In a nation where immigrants are considered undeserving of health care and there is no universal safety net even for citizens, what happens to impoverished, undocumented, and uninsured migrants? Based on novel ethnographic detective work, The Third Net exposes a shadow system that ties together a seemingly disorganized patchwork of organizations serving the migrants who fall through the cracks. An essential contribution to understanding the interconnected forces that maintain the unjust US structure of care." * Dorothy Roberts, author of Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction and the Meaning of Liberty *
"The Third Net offers a rich empirical site and an analytical lens through which to grasp the injustices of a formal health system that is designed to neglect poor and legally vulnerable immigrants. It is original, eye-opening, illuminating, accessible, and an essential read. Highly recommended!" * Cecilia Menjívar, co-author of Immigrant Families *
"The Third Net takes us on a rigorous deep dive into the world of a disconnected array of clinics and non-profits providing medical care to millions of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. who are excluded from formal medical insurance. This book prompted my admiration for all those who make daily efforts to provide medical care for the excluded, and anger at the deficiencies in the health care system of the richest nation in the world. A sobering read." * Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo, co-author of South Central Dreams: Finding Home and Building Community in South L.A. *

ISBN: 9781479821563

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 445g

256 pages