Nicole L. Novak – The Conversation

Minneapolis residents mobilized to protest against ICE and to support immigrant members of their community. Fibonacci Blue/Flickr via Wikimedia Commons

February 18, 2026

When ICE sweeps a community, public health pays a price – and recovery will likely take years

Nicole L. Novak, University of Iowa and William D. Lopez, University of Michigan

As immigration enforcement crackdowns expand across the US, communities can mobilize to lessen the public health impacts.

Postcard of the Napa State Hospital in Napa, Calif., circa 1905. Over 1,900 Californians were recommended for sterilization while patients here. The collection of Alex Wellerstein

March 22, 2018

Forced sterilization programs in California once harmed thousands – particularly Latinas

Nicole L. Novak, University of Iowa and Natalie Lira, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

About 20,000 Californians were once sterilized under state eugenics laws. New research shows Latinos were disproportionately targeted. Is there any opportunity today to address these wrongs?

Tarjeta postal del Hospital Estatal de Napa en Napa, California, alrededor de 1905. Más de 1.900 californianos fueron recomendados para la esterilización mientras los pacientes estaban aquí. La colección de Alex Wellerstein

March 22, 2018

La esterilización forzada perjudicó a miles en California, especialmente a las mujeres latinas

Nicole L. Novak, University of Iowa and Natalie Lira, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Alrededor de 20,000 californianos alguna vez fueron esterilizados bajo las leyes estatales de eugenesia. Una nueva investigación muestra que los latinos fueron atacados desproporcionadamente.

Former Agriprocessors employee Jonas Ordenes, center, at a prayer vigil in Postville, Iowa on May 12, 2009, the anniversary of the 2008 immigration raid at the plant that ended with 389 arrests. AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall

January 24, 2017

How a major immigration raid affected infant health

Nicole L. Novak, University of Michigan and Aresha Martinez-Cardoso, University of Michigan

The stress of immigration enforcement has implications for health.

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