One million immigrants arrive in the United States each year. Over 100,000 settle in New York. These immigrants hail from diverse countries. The top sending countries are as varied as the Dominican Republic, China, Jamaica, Guyana, and Bangladesh. Immigrants bring with them unique health beliefs, practices, and epidemiologic profiles.

Our nation's immigrants have revitalized our cities and increased our quality of life. However, despite their contributions, our immigrants' needs are often neglected by the healthcare system. Immigrants face legal, economic, linguistic, and cultural barriers to healthcare, which lead to racial and ethnic disparities in health.

The Center for Immigrant Health (CIH) was established in 1990, as the New York Task Force on Immigrant Health (NYTFIH). NYTFIH grew out of the first national symposium in immigrant health. In recognition of its nationally recognized role in immigrant health, NYTFIH became The Center for Immigrant Health in 2000. CIH is a partnership of community members, practitioners, researchers, social scientists, policy makers, and advocates. The Center bridges immigrant and refugee communities and the healthcare system. CIH facilitates the delivery of epidemiologically informed and culturally and linguistically sensitive health services.