Nearly seventy percent of Latinos in the United States say they have suffered discrimination, more than twice as many who said so a decade earlier, according to a new study.
The research published Tuesday in online journal Social Science & Medicine - Population Health shows that 68 percent of Latino men and women felt discriminated against in the US, Reuters reported.
The study used data from the National Latino Health Care Survey, which surveyed 800 Latino adults in 2013 by phone.
That rate, which more than doubled since the 30 percent rate of 2003, is similar to the percentage of African Americans who reported discrimination.
The study also shows that minorities who are living in states with tough anti-immigrant policies report higher rates of discrimination.
Joanna Almeida, assistant professor of social work at Simmons College in Boston and lead author of the study, said the links between discrimination and anti-immigrant polices are “chilling” given President-elect Donald Trump’s stance on the issue.
Trump, who takes office in January, has vowed to deport many of the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the US and promised to build a wall on the border with Mexico.
"Our findings are especially concerning in light of President-elect Trump's promise to take a hard line on immigrants and immigration including carrying out mass deportations," Almeida said in a statement.
The study suggests an "increasingly negative immigration policy environment and anti-immigrant sentiment is likely to engender higher levels of discrimination," she said.
The rise in discrimination could be due to a shift in attitudes towards immigrants and perception that discrimination is allowed by state governments, the research found.