At the Border and Beyond: Research-Informed Approaches to Advance Immigrant Well-Being
Im/migrant Scholar Well-Being Collaborative (February 27, 2024)
This briefing reviews new empirical research on immigration policies focused on immigrant well-being, including research on the impact of the 100-mile border zone, bond amounts in immigration courts, and ICE’s surveillance technology.
Engage and Evade: How Latino Immigrant Families Manage Surveillance in Everyday Life
Asad L. Asad, Princeton University Press (June 13, 2023)
This book explores the experiences of undocumented immigrants living in a complex environment of ongoing surveillance.
“We Don’t Turn Away Families”: Support for Immigrant Families with Young Children During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic
Carolina Villamil Grest, Megan Finno-Velasquez, & Sophia Sepp; Journal of Human Rights and Social Work (October 12, 2023)
This study examined community responses to the needs of immigrant families along the US–Mexico border during COVID-19 and suggests inclusive, local-level solutions that can mitigate structural barriers and ensure equitable access to services for immigrant families.
Most Hispanic Immigrants Say Their Lives Are Better In The U.S. But Face Financial And Health Care Challenges: The 2023 KFF/LA Times Survey of Immigrants
Schumacher et al., Kaiser Family Foundation (January 18, 2024)
This report explores the experiences of Hispanic immigrants and the unique challenges many face related to limited English proficiency, citizenship status, income, insurance, and education.
Supporting North Carolina’s Immigrant Families
Berstein et al., Urban Institute (November 15, 2023)
New research with immigrants in North Carolina identifies common barriers to safety net participation and challenges faced by immigrant-serving organizations and health and human services agencies.
One in Four Adults in Mixed-Status Families Did Not Participate in Safety Net Programs in 2022 Because of Green Card Concerns
Dulce Gonzalez & Hamutal Bernstein, Urban Institute (August 17, 2023)
This research founds that immigrant families continued to avoid safety net programs in 2022 due to immigration concerns.
Opportunities for Welcome: Lessons Learned for Supporting People Seeking Asylum in Chicago, Denver, New York City, and Portland, Maine
Women’s Refugee Commission (November 30, 2023)
Informed by research in NYC; Portland, Maine; Denver; and Chicago, this report provides recommendations on policies and practices to support people seeking asylum and other vulnerable populations.
False Hopes: Over 100,000 Immigrant Youth Trapped in the SIJS Backlog
Rachel Leya Davidson, Laila L. Hlass, Katia Leiva, and Gabriela Cruz; End SIJS Backlog Coalition (December 2023)
This report, informed by new data from USCIS through FOIA litigation, reviews the growing SIJS backlog and highlights first-hand stories of SIJS youth on its impact.
The Double Exclusion of Immigrant Youth
Laila Hlass, Rachel L. Davidson & Austin Kocher, The Georgetown Law Journal (September 6, 2023)
This article documents the many barriers encountered by children seeking SIJS, including avoidable delays, inconsistent denial rates, and a growing backlog of SIJS petitioners, and calls for action to improve the SIJS program.
Reduced health care utilization among young children of immigrants after Donald Trump’s election and proposed public charge rule
Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba et al., Health Affairs Scholar (August 2023)
This research explored the chilling effect of former President Trump’s election on health care utilization among children of immigrants.
Recent Immigrant Children: A Profile of New Arrivals to U.S. Schools
Julie Sugarman, Migration Policy Institute (October 2023)
This fact sheet examines the characteristics of recently arrived immigrant children, including household characteristics, geographic distribution, language use, and school enrollment and completion.
“It felt like hitting rock bottom”: A qualitative exploration of the mental health impacts of immigration enforcement and discrimination on US-citizen, Mexican children
Jamile Tellez Lieberman, Carmen R. Valdez, Jessie Kemmick Pintor, Philippe Weisz, Amy Carroll-Scott, Kevin Wagner & Ana P. Martinez-Donate; Latino Studies (May 15, 2023)
This qualitative study examines children’s experiences of discrimination, parental deportation or threat thereof, and perceived impacts on mental health, and revealed detrimental impacts to their psychological well-being.
Strengthening Border Families: Data Highlights from Interviews & Focus Groups with Immigrant Caregivers
Megan Finno-Velasquez and Sophia Sepp; Center on Immigration and Child Welfare (June 2023)
This report details the findings and implications from the third phase of the Strengthening Border Families study, which interviewed immigrant caregivers with young children in Doña Ana County about their experiences accessing a broad range of supportive services. Read the report in Spanish here.
Measuring Latinx/@ immigrant experiences and mental health: Adaptation of discrimination and historical loss scales
Alexis Handal et al., American Journal of Orthopsychiatry (2023)
This research explored Latinx immigrant experiences and mental health in the Immigrant Well-Being Project intervention in New Mexico via the adaptation of discrimination and historical loss measures.
Research Documents the Harm of Past Public Charge Policies
Protecting Immigrant Families (May 2023)
This brief summarizes research demonstrating the “chilling effect” of the Trump public charge rule and the harmful consequences to immigrant families, including dis-enrolling from or avoiding supportive services like Medicaid, CHIP, and SNAP.
The Health Coverage of Noncitizens in the United States 2024
Matthew Buettgens & Urmi Ramchandani, Urban Institute (May 4, 2023)
This brief examines health care coverage and eligibility of noncitizens, reviews some state actions to expand health coverage eligibility to noncitizens, and explores the eligibility of uninsured noncitizens in Medicaid expansion and nonexpansion states.
Still at Risk: The Urgent Need to Address Immigration Enforcement’s Harms to Children
Nicole Chávez, Suma Setty, Hannah Liu, and Wendy Cervantes; CLASP & UnidosUS (June 13, 2023)
This report examines trends in U.S. interior immigration enforcement, outlines the negative effects for children with respect to economic security, food access, housing stability, mental health, and educational outcomes, and provides recommendations for local, state, and federal governments to mitigate these harms.
Mixed-Immigration Status Families During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Stephanie Iraheta & Brittany N Morey, Health Equity (April 20, 2023)
This study examined how health inequities were exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic due to anti-immigrant policies like the public charge rule.
Understanding Poverty Declines among Immigrants and Their Children in the United States
Jeanne Batalova & Michael Fix, Migration Policy Institute (May 1, 2023)
This brief explores how poverty rates changed among immigrants and their children overall and by citizenship status and race/ethnicity, both before and during the pandemic.
