Health

New from IMR: Labor, Well-Being, and Immigration Enforcement

The Summer 2019 edition of the International Migration Review (IMR) is now available online and in print through paid or institutional subscription. This edition is sorted thematically into three sections. The first section examines immigrant labor and immigration policy, including...

The Legal Protection of Refugees with Disabilities: Forgotten and Invisible?

Mansha Mirza of the University of Illinois at Chicago reviews The Legal Protection of Refugees with Disabilities: Forgotten and Invisible? by Mary Crock, Laura Smith-Khan, Ron McCallum and Ben Saul. Mary Crock, Laura Smith-Khan, Ron McCallum and Ben Saul focus on...

Breaking Down Barriers and Welcoming the Stranger: 2019 Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative Conference

On March 12 and 13, 2019, 181 representatives of Catholic immigrant-serving organizations from around the country convened at Santa Clara University School of Law to take part in the Center for Migration Studies’s (CMS’s) annual Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative Conference....

Border Spirituality: ‘Tu eres mi otro yo’

The 2019 Father Lydio F. Tomasi, c.s. Annual Lecture on International Migration was delivered by Msgr. Arturo J. Bañuelas, Pastor of St. Mark’s Parish in El Paso, TX on March 12, 2019 at the sixth national gathering of the Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative in Santa Clara, California.

Immigration Authorities Systematically Deny Medical Care for Migrants Who Speak Indigenous Languages

The death of seven year-old Jakelin Amei Rosmery Caal Maquin in December of 2018 while in US Border Patrol custody has led to outrage, frustration, and a host of unanswered questions. This study — which consists of more than 1,100 post-deportation surveys with unauthorized Mexican migrants — suggests that the denial of medical attention to migrants in US custody is a widespread and systemic problem, and one that appears to affect indigenous language speakers disproportionately.

Proposed Public Charge Rule Would Significantly Reduce Legal Admissions and Adjustment to Lawful Permanent Resident Status of Working Class Persons

On October 10, 2018, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued its long-anticipated proposed rule on inadmissibility on public charge grounds. Under the proposed rule, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officers would consider receipt of cash benefits and, in a break from the past, non-cash medical, housing, and food benefits in making public charge determinations. This focuses on the potential effect of the proposed rule on two populations, undocumented immigrants and nonimmigrants that would otherwise be eligible for legal permanent resident (LPR) status based on a legally qualifying relationship to a US citizen or LPR living in their household. This CMS report analyzes how these populations in 2016 would have fared under the proposed rule. After placing the rule in historic context, the paper profiles these two populations and examines the characteristics that would mitigate in favor of and against their inadmissibility. The study offers a snapshot of these two groups based on estimates derived from the 2016 American Community Survey (ACS).

Weathering Katrina: Culture and Recovery among Vietnamese Americans

Faith Communities Should Oppose the Administration’s Proposed Public Charge Rule and Broader Attack on Immigrant Families

On October 10, 2018, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published in the Federal Register a 447-page proposed rule changing the definition of a “public charge,” a term applied to legal immigrants who access certain public benefits. While in previous...

The Role of Faith-Based Organizations in Immigrants’ Health and Entrepreneurship

This paper highlights the potential of faith-based organizations to improve the health and work outcomes of vulnerable migrants. First, the paper describes how faith-based organizations expand health care to underserved populations and play a vital role in building trust between healthcare providers and migrant communities. Next, the paper describes obstacles to migrant employment and explains how faith-based organizations are promoting migrant entrepreneurship through training, referrals, and targeted microloans, among other services. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of how the international community might support faith-based organizations’ efforts in these areas. In particular, the Global Compact on Migration should recognize faith-based organizations’ unique resources and credibility among vulnerable migrant populations. It should also emphasize the potential for productive cooperation between international organizations and faith-based organizations in the areas of migrant health care and entrepreneurship.

New from IMR: Determinants of Anti-immigrant Sentiment and the Economic and Educational Outcomes of Immigrants at Home, Abroad, and across Generations

The Spring 2018 edition of the International Migration Review (IMR) is now available online for free until the end of 2018 and in print through paid or institutional subscription. This edition includes a series of papers on immigrant economic outcomes...