Refugees In The United States Research Articles

#ResisteGozando (joy as resistance): On the healing power of dance at the US–Mexico border

This article explores the personal and political significance of dancing for migrants trapped at the US–Mexico border, waiting to apply for asylum in the United States. Past research has often framed waiting as empty, static, boring, or even violent. Nevertheless, an emergent literature shows how people in contexts of violence also exercise creativity and care as embodied paths to collective healing. Drawing on nearly three years of patchwork ethnography at Comunidades, a cultural center and migrant shelter in Tijuana, Mexico, including participant observation in person and over Zoom as well as in-depth interviews with migrants and staff, we explore how dance affects migrants’ relationships to trauma and offers its own mode of politics. We show how forced waiting was affectively complex. On one hand, being stranded at the border left migrants vulnerable to state and cartel abuse. At the same time, dancing helped people ‘come home’ to themselves, practice solidarity, and refuse dominant narratives of their suffering. In short, migrants can use creative practices – including but not limited to dance – for embodied healing, community building, and resistance to larger regimes of violence.

Acculturative Challenges and Opportunities Among Arab-Speaking MENA Refugees in the United States

The study identifies acculturative challenges and opportunities experienced by Arab-speaking MENA refugees in the United States. The research team conducted 24 semi-structured interviews with refugee parents (11 fathers and 13 mothers) in Arabic. The findings reveal two main categories: (a) acculturative challenges and (b) opportunities and hopes for a better future in the United States. Refugees described several acculturative challenges, including the language barrier, unrealized mental health issues, intimate partner violence (IPV), and the added struggle of COVID-19. Refugees faced several challenges, but their stressors were mitigated by their hope for a better future for their children. Findings suggest practitioners must introduce early interventions targeted at family conflict resolution in Arabic. Future research should explore culturally acceptable mental health interventions and gender-specific resources for IPV.

The Correlates of Collective and Individual Trauma on Mental Health Outcomes Among Afghan Refugees: A Study of Sociodemographic Differences.

Following the U.S. military's departure from Afghanistan, a significant number of Afghan refugees have resettled in the United States, presenting complex mental health challenges exacerbated by extensive traumatic exposure. This demographic is particularly affected by collective trauma due to war, genocide, and the loss of homeland. However, detailed investigations into the correlations between collective trauma and mental health outcomes among Afghan refugees are limited. This study sought to explore the relationship between collective trauma and mental health outcomes within the Afghan refugee population in the United States, paying particular attention to the influence of sociodemographic factors. Identifying subgroups at greater risk allows for the development of more targeted mental health interventions. The study surveyed 173 Afghan refugees employing snowball sampling, utilizing a cross-sectional design. Data collection was facilitated through online and in-person surveys in English, Dari, and Pashto. Key measures included the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire for individual trauma experiences, the Historical Loss Scale for collective trauma, the Historical Loss Associated Symptoms Scale for collective trauma symptoms, the Afghan Symptom Checklist-22 for mental health symptoms, and the Post-Migration Living Difficulties Scale for post-migration stressors. Statistical analyses involved Pearson's correlation for variable associations, with nonparametric Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests conducted to assess sociodemographic impacts due to data's non-normal distribution. The analysis revealed significant variations in collective trauma and mental health outcomes across subgroups. Afghan women, minoritized ethnic groups, those who experienced extended displacement, and refugees with uncertain visa statuses reported higher collective trauma levels and worse mental health outcomes. Statistical significance was noted in the correlations between collective trauma and mental health symptoms (r = .53, p < .01) and between post-migration difficulties and mental health (r = .33, p < .01). The disparities in mental health outcomes based on sociodemographic characteristics were significant, with nonparametric tests showing clear distinctions across different groups (Kruskal-Wallis H = 14.76, p < .05 for trauma experience by visa status). This study emphasizes the critical need for mental health interventions that account for the complex experiences of collective trauma among Afghan refugees, especially among identified subgroups. Tailoring mental health services to address the specific needs highlighted through disaggregated data can enhance support for Afghan refugees in the United States. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the relationship between collective trauma and refugee mental health, advocating for nuanced care strategies in resettlement environments.

Economic self-sufficiency (ESS) as a barrier to health self-sufficiency (HSS) for Burmese refugees in the United States: a culture-centered analysis

From displacement to resettlement, Burmese refugees bear high disease burdens; first as forced migrants escaping conflict and then as second-class citizens in host countries like the United States. This relegation of refugee bodies to the margins upon resettlement, warrants an examination of the contradictions of the process as a humanitarian enterprise yet in violation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 10 of Reduced Inequalities, particularly through a health inequities lens. In the present study, the researcher conducted 15 semi-structured in-depth interviews with key stakeholders within the resettlement ecosystem of the city of Indianapolis, Indiana in the U.S., including Burmese community members, leaders, and health practitioners. Narrative data reveal an inverse relationship between the federally mandated metric of economic self-sufficiency (ESS) defined as job placement upon resettlement, and health self-sufficiency (HSS) defined as the ability to meaningfully engage with healthcare structures and resources. Participants articulate the precarious nature of such low-wage employment in predatory industries like meatpacking, requiring little to no language or vocational training and subjecting refugee employees to coercive practices including mandatory overtime. These practices are outlined as both dangerous to the health of employees and detracting from their time resources which would otherwise be allocated toward linguistic and vocational training—both required for socioeconomic mobility, as well as to meaningfully navigate labyrinthian healthcare structures. Faced with these structural constraints, Burmese community members demonstrate health self-sufficiency through a combination of treatment with over-the-counter (OTC) medications, traditional healing practices, and by activating familial and community networks as communal resources for accessing healthcare structures.

Tuberculosis in United States-Bound Follow-to-Join Asylees, 2014-2019.

Persons may seek asylum in the United States or at a U.S. port of entry. Principal asylees are those who are granted asylum status. Their spouse and unmarried children under 21 years of age may be granted asylum if accompanying, or following to join, the principal asylees. U.S.-bound follow-to-join asylees must undergo an overseas medical examination that includes tuberculosis (TB) screening. Culture-based overseas TB screening in U.S.-bound follow-to-join asylees has not been evaluated. We evaluated data from overseas TB screening in 19,088 arrivals of follow-to-join asylees during 2014-2019 and assessed data from their postarrival evaluation, which is recommended for those at risk for TB. Of 19,088 arrivals of follow-to-join asylees, 29 (152 cases/100,000 persons) met criteria for class B0 TB (recent completion of TB treatment overseas) and 340 (1,781 cases/100,000 persons) met criteria for class B1 pulmonary TB (chest radiograph/clinical symptoms suggestive of TB but negative sputum cultures overseas). Of 6,847 persons aged 2 to 14 years from countries with a WHO-estimated TB incidence of ≥20 cases/100,000 population/year, 408 (6.0%) were classified as class B2 latent TB infection (LTBI). Postarrival evaluations were completed in 44.8%, 51.5%, and 40.4% of persons with class B0 TB, class B1 TB, and class B2 LTBI, respectively. In conclusion, culture-based overseas TB screening in U.S.-bound follow-to-join asylees is effective in identifying those with TB (class B0 TB) or those at risk for TB (class B1 TB and class B2 LTBI). Completion of postarrival evaluation for newly arrived follow-to-join asylees was less frequent than that reported for immigrants and refugees.

Persecution as stigma-driven trauma: Social determinants, stigma, and violence in asylum seekers in the United States

ObjectiveExisting literature documents high rates of experienced violence in asylum seekers. Despite this high prevalence, experiences of traumatic stress are neither necessary nor sufficient grounds for claiming asylum, without documented experiences of persecution. The aim of the current study is to better understand the role of co-occurring pre-migratory social determinants, stigma, and trauma on the experiences of persecution among asylum seekers in the United States. MethodWe conducted a retrospective file review of legal declarations submitted by 25 asylum seekers who participated in forensic mental health evaluations at a pro-bono asylum clinic. We coded de-identified data for co-occurring events of trauma, social determinants of health, and components of “discrimination” from the legal definition of persecution - conceptualizing persecution as stigma-driven infliction of violence. Data was analyzed using a tiered deductive and inductive reflexive thematic analysis. ResultsFindings suggest pre-migratory social determinants included demographics, neighborhood, economic, environmental, and social and cultural level disparities across various grounds for seeking asylum, and experiences of stigma were associated with the specific acts of violence and harm. ConclusionsOur findings - specific to asylum seekers who have obtained legal representation and completed applications for asylum in the United States - describe the co-occurrence of social determinants, stigma and traumatic experiences among asylum seekers. To our knowledge, this study is the first of its kind to bridge the existing legal framework of asylum to a psychological construct incorporating trauma, stigma, and social determinants of health, lending support for the conceptualization of persecution as stigma-driven trauma.

“People are still living with pains of the war”: An assessment of long-term adjustment and consequences of war-related traumatic stress among Liberian refugees

A dearth of empirical research examines the adjustment and wellbeing of long-term refugees in the United States and globally. The goal of this hermeneutic phenomenological needs assessment study was to examine stakeholders’ perceptions of individual, relational, and community-level adjustment in one of the largest Liberian refugee communities in the U.S. Twenty 60–90-minute key informant interviews were conducted and analyzed using hermeneutic phenomenology coding protocols. Six themes emerged in key informants’ perceptions of long-term adjustment and wellbeing among war-affected Liberian refugees: 1) unresolved traumatic stress, 2) substance use, 3) mental health stigma, 4) adverse relational effects, 5) disrupted community dynamics, and 6) lack of access to culturally relevant services. This study expands on refugee and global mental health research by empirically documenting adjustment experiences in a long-term and underrepresented refugee community, which can inform prevention and intervention efforts with communities displaced from war. Clinical, research, and policy implications are also described alongside efforts to enhance support for refugees across their adjustment phases. (162 words)

Violencia incesante: dos estudios de caso de migrantes por desplazamiento forzado hacia Estados Unidos

The persistent violence in Mexico continues to cause forced migration, forcing people to leave their communities to protect their physical integrity by resorting to requesting political asylum in the United States. This study describes the experience of people entering the United States through political asylum in two different time periods. For this purpose, a qualitative investigation was carried out, which included in-depth interviews with two people who were forcibly displaced in the state of Michoacán in 2014 and 2021. Among the main findings, the violence that continues in the State, caused by criminal organizations and the continuity of violence and the procedures for entering the United States seeking political asylum, which remain, painfully, very similar over the years.

PRODUCING “ILLEGALITY”: THE RACIALIZATION OF MEXICAN AND CENTRAL AMERICAN ASYLUM SEEKERS IN THE UNITED STATES

ABSTRACT As record numbers of Mexican and Central Americans arrive at the US-Mexico border, they encounter an asylum system that has evolved to exclude them. After detailing the specific legal changes that racialize these nationalities through criminalization, this study uses asylum data to illustrate how the current structure of the asylum process produces illegality for Mexican and Central Americans seeking protection in the US. We draw on asylum data outcomes for the largest groups filing defensive asylum claims to halt their deportation over the past decade to emphasize the impact of changing laws and the divergent impact of the implementation of those laws on Mexican, Guatemalan, Honduran, Salvadoran, Chinese, and Indian asylum seekers. While Chinese and Indian nationals have relatively high rates of success obtaining asylum, their Mexican and Central American counterparts are consistently denied asylum, partially as a result of their criminalization in the US asylum system.

Price of Mobility

This research paper explores the origins of the border industrial complex, current American policies supported by private corporations regarding border infrastructure, and the impact of these policies on Central American asylum seekers. My investigation draws from critical border studies literature on the existence of borders as political tools as opposed to ‘neutral lines’ demarcating sovereignty, interrogating how border policies fuel the neoliberal economy. Given this background, I examine the commercialization of human mobility using border policies at the U.S.-Mexico border as a case study. The question at the core of my investigation is: to what extent does corporate investment in U.S-Mexico border militarization obstruct protection for Central American migrants seeking asylum in the United States? In response, I argue that the issue of corporate involvement in U.S. border policy is important to examine because of how it impedes the implementation of progressive immigration policy by centering the border security market, and decentering human rights. More specifically, I contend that border violence as funded by corporate investment in state bordering becomes a way of maintaining racial hierarchy through movement and citizenship restrictions against racialized migrants from the Global South.

Hiding and Seeking: The Educational and Socioemotional Needs of Asylum Seeker and Refugee Students

ABSTRACT Focusing on asylum seeker and refugee students attending a school with the stated mission to cater to recent immigrants, asylees, and refugees in Texas, we explored the school experiences of asylum-seeking and refugee middle schoolers and how they see their education. Having obtained political asylum in the United States, they are hiding from strife in their native lands, but also seeking a schooling experience that will nurture their dreams. We explored that seeking by having students envision their ideal classrooms with a group drawing exercise and then discuss these visions, the experiences that shaped them, and how their current schooling experience compares to their ideal in in-depth interviews. Complementary school data were collected. By focusing on asylum seeker and refugee students, we sought to eschew assimilationist ideologies and to highlight the diversity of experiences and interpretations within this group. We explored the themes found in students’ conceptualizations of their ideals, including the high aspirations students hold, their comparative outlook on education processes, the centrality of relationships to student success, and the conflicted identities students have to negotiate daily.

Germany on Their Minds: German Jewish Refugees in the United States and Their Relationships with Germany, 1938–1988

Germany on Their Minds: German Jewish Refugees in the United States and Their Relationships with Germany, 1938–1988

Puppetry to educate social work practitioners: Telling the refugee story

Summary The complexities of refugee resettlement are difficult to comprehend, and alternative approaches to education may enhance empathy. Puppetry's art form often engages broad audiences, allowing puppets to tell important stories. This project developed a research-based educational puppet show to increase understanding of refugees in the United States (US). Using a mixed-method approach, this exploratory study (1) interviewed eleven refugees from five origin countries; (2) analyzed the interviews for salient themes; (3) developed a “master” play based on emergent themes; (4) delivered the play through puppetry; and (5) empirically assessed the efficacy of puppetry in disseminating information about refugees. Findings Five overarching themes regarding refugee resettlement emerged from the interviews, namely, (1) economic concerns; (2) language barriers; (3) socio-cultural differences; (4) misperceptions; and (5) altered family dynamics. Almost all 107 respondents who completed a pre- and post-show survey evidenced having gained new knowledge about resettlement in the areas of (i) refugee status; (ii) the arrival process; (iii) economic realities; (iii) adaptation issues; and (iv) refugee perceptions of opportunities in the US. Applications The salient findings of the interviews were consistent with extant literature on refugee resettlement and the 40-min research-based puppet show confirmed that puppetry can be an alternative, or supplementary, training tool. Puppetry brings life to didactic presentations for social workers and other service providers through effective portrayals of difficulties faced by both refugee and host in the adaptation process. It also suggests that puppetry can sensitize and educate practitioners on issues that can be controversial.

An Exploration of the Lived Experiences and Psychological States of Migrants and Refugees

UNHCR reports that about 82.4 million individuals were forcibly displaced as they attempted to avoid persecution, conflict, or human rights violations in their home countries. In addition to traumatic experiences, refugees encounter stressors such as low income, reduced social support, and language barriers. This qualitative study aimed to explore the impact of pre-migration trauma and political detainment on mental health outcomes and living conditions. A total of eight interviewees participated in video conferencing interviews. A non-probability convenience sampling using the snowballing technique was utilized to identify participants. Data were analyzed using an inductive approach for thematic analysis. The software Dedoose was used to come up with codes and the research team refined the codes into distinct themes. Four themes emerged from data analysis: extrinsic barriers, symptoms of psychological distress, coping and help-seeking behaviors, and interpersonal relationships. Results of the study show the intensity and difficulty of experiences faced by participants and the toll it takes on their mental state and family life. The results highlight a lack of resources available to refugees in the United States and a suggestion to further the research efforts for this understudied population.

Predictors of Chronic Debilitating Conditions Among Refugees Resettled in the United States

Refugees who have resettled in the United States encounter numerous challenges, including poor health conditions. However, knowledge of risk factors contributing to chronic debilitating conditions among refugees is scarce. Therefore, this study examined the prevalence and potential factors associated with chronic debilitating conditions within the U.S. refugee population. This study utilized secondary data from the 2019 Annual Survey of Refugees (ASR) involving 1007 refugees aged 16 years or older resettled in the U.S. between 2014 and 2018. The prevalence estimates were obtained using chi-square tests, and multiple logistic regression was used to determine the significant association between predictor variables and chronic debilitating conditions for refugees in the United States. About 25.5% of the refugees reported having chronic debilitating conditions. Regression results showed that being an older refugee and having adjusted immigration status to become a permanent resident was associated with higher odds of reporting chronic debilitating conditions. However, refugees who were currently working, married, and with good English language proficiency were associated with a lower likelihood of reporting chronic debilitating conditions. Gender and education levels of refugees were not significantly associated with chronic debilitating conditions after covariates adjustments. Interventions should focus on increasing access to education, employment opportunities to enhance health literacy, and financial resources to access healthcare crucial for mitigating chronic debilitating conditions. In addition, addressing the language barriers through language and interpretation services in clinical settings can also improve healthcare access, thus reducing the risk of chronic debilitating conditions among refugees resettled in the United States. Keywords: Chronic debilitating conditions, English proficiency, Immigration, Refugees, United States.

Self-reported Disability Among Recently Resettled Refugees in the United States: Results from the National Annual Survey of Refugees.

The prevalence rates and correlates of mental or physical disability among recently resettled refugees, who undergo strenuous journeys before arriving in the US, remain unknown, masking potential health disparities. Self-reported disability was measured by the 2018 Annual Survey of Refugees (ASR), and defined as having a physical, mental, or other health condition for more than 6 months that precluded one from working. Prevalence rates of self-reported disability and sample correlates were investigated using descriptive and logistic regression analyses. Of N = 4259 participating refugees in ASR (Mean Age = 28.2, SD = 17.2; 52.5% male), 2875 responded to the disability question and 21.4% reported disability. About 33.7% were born in the Middle East region, 29.5% had no formal education, and 35% had an income of less than $15,000. Age (OR = 1.06, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) [1.06,1.07], p < 0.001), region of birth (OR = 1.82, 95% CI [1.31, 2.51], p < 0.001), employment status (OR = 3.31, 95% CI [2.67, 4.11], p < 0.001), and receiving food stamps (OR = 2.09, 95% CI [1.66, 2.62], p < 0.001) were associated with self-reported disability. Disability levels among refugees recently resettled in the United States are comparable to national disability rates in the US. Our results suggest that multiple aspects of the refugee experience (i.e., demographics, socioeconomic status, contextual migration history) need to be considered to understand the risk for health outcomes. Future investigations of disabilities in diverse refugee populations over time and tailored public health interventions to mitigate potential risk factors are warranted to promote health equity.

The Time Politics of Refugee Resettlement and Higher Education in the United States

This paper sheds light on experiences within systems of US resettlement and its structures of (un)welcome. There is considerable evidence that the policy framework of these systems complicates the possibilities of higher education for refugees. Drawing on interviews with residents with a refugee background and resettlement service providers, we explore how US refugee resettlement policy creates obstacles for refugees in pursuing higher education and professional work by imposing a particular regimentation of time on refugees’ lives that impels them to rapidly integrate into low-income employment markets. We argue that such a time politics of speed hastens the resettlement process to advance the goal that residents with refugee background obtain rapid economic self-sufficiency and discuss the policy implications.

“The Caravan of Death”: Women, Refugee Camps, and Family Separations in the US–Mexico Borderlands, 1910–1920

Abstract: This article examines how Mexican border women negotiated war and family separations and gives new insights into the lives of women, families, and children who escaped the violence of the Mexican Revolution (1910–1920). As hundreds of thousands of Mexicans began crossing the border to the United States during the evolution, thousands of them, especially women and children, were detained and interned in refugee camps along the US–Mexico borderlands. This article examines the role of the US military in detention centers and argues that Anglo-American ideologies of race and gender shaped assumptions about Mexican women during the revolution that increasingly prevented Mexican women and children from seeking asylum in the United States.

Precarious protections: Unaccompanied minors seeking asylum in the United States. By Chiara Galli. Oakland: University of California Press, 2023. 296 pp. $29.95 paperback

<i>Precarious protections: Unaccompanied minors seeking asylum in the United States</i>. By Chiara Galli. Oakland: University of California Press, 2023. 296 pp. $29.95 paperback

Credible Fears: The Asylum Narrative as Form in Lost Children Archive

Abstract: The first step toward winning asylum in the United States is the Credible Fear Interview (CFI), in which the applicant narrates their life in a way that conforms with legal expectations of “credibility.” This interview process appears in several recent literary works, most notably Valeria Luiselli’s nonfiction work, Tell Me How It Ends . However, the narrative situation of the CFI, this moment of high-stakes, transactional storytelling, also provides a way of interpreting recent migration literature and understanding how such works perform credibility for the reader. By analyzing the interplay of legal and literary narratives in Luiselli’s Lost Children Archive , this article positions the CFI as the primal scene of narration for recent migration fiction.