Undocumented

Background Undocumented pregnant women constitute a vulnerable group of people who lack equal access to pregnancy care. Previous research has shown that undocumented migrants encounter difficulties in accessing health services, the onset of prenatal care is delayed, and women have an increased risk for infectious diseases. The aim of this study was to describe the use of maternal health care services and the obstetric outcomes of undocumented women in Helsinki, capital city of Finland, in addition to comparing the results with all pregnant women in Finland. Methods The study was a retrospective register-based study consisting of data collected between 2014 to 2018 from the electronic medical records of the public maternity clinic and maternity hospital in Helsinki, Finland. The study population consists of 62 individual pregnancies of undocumented women. The results of the study were compared with national data on parturients and deliveries (N = 47,274 women) and with prenatal scree...

The purpose of this research was to understand how undergraduate undocumented students navigate the University of San Diego. My research questions are: How can I understand the meaning making process of undocumented students as they navigate the University of San Diego (USD)? How can I cooperate with undocumented students at USD to improve the support services for them? This research uses Kolb’s Learning Cycle and Testimonios to understand and engage with the participants as they navigate a predominantly white institution. The cycles include individual testimonios, and multi-testimonios to honor their immigration and undocumented identity. Students created an Ofrenda and a poem together to represent their journey in the United States. All students identified as DACAmented and as first-generation students

This qualitative research study examines the experiences of undocumented Latina/o graduate students. Specifically, the study explores how undocumented students have navigated entrance into graduate school and how their immigration status has impacted their educational and occupational aspirations. Utilizing a Latina/o Critical Race Theory (LatCrit) framework this study challenges forms of racism that exist through immigration policies and laws that limit the opportunities for undocumented students. The study draws on a Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) model, and argues that undocumented college graduates utilize forms of capital embedded in their culture and communities of support to navigate institutions of education and successfully obtain their degrees. The study employs an oral history methodology with 20 Latina/o students attending the University of California or California State University System at the time of the study. The study provides insight into the lived experiences of...

Throughout the 1990s, Argentina has witnessed a rearticulation of images of perilousness. Targeting specific minorities, these images actualize negative feelings towards minority members in the “common citizen”. Approaching discursive practices less as a reflection of “reality” than as an instrument for its construction, we focus on examining the discourse about immigrantion produced by the Federal Police, to analyze displacements of meaning operated by power institutions. We observe how, by propitiating the overlap of the categories “immigrant”, “undocumented” and “delinquent”, police discourse constructs certain sectors of the population as a social threat, as to legitimize the exercise of repressive practices.En la última década, se registra en la Argentina una rearticulación de imágenes de peligrosidad que, tomando como blanco a determinadas minorías, actualiza en el/la “ciudadano/a común” sentimientos negativos hacia sus miembros. Partiendo de un enfoque que ve las prácticas di...

Este artículo explora las prácticas de información (búsqueda, uso y distribución de la información) de los migrantes latinos, en particular de aquellos que están indocumentados en la frontera entre México y EE. UU, y en Seattle, Washington. En estos contextos se generan prácticas de información diferentes. En la frontera encontramos más prácticas de pobreza de información tipo “pequeño mundo”, las cuales se van ampliando y consolidando a medida que se fortalece el sentido de pertenencia después de pasar más tiempo establecidos en EE. UU. Sin embargo, la vulnerabilidad y la transitoriedad se mantienen, ante el riesgo permanente de deportación. Los hallazgos del estudio en comunidades colombianas se presentan en otro artículo complementario, en este mismo volumen. A través de la fotografía participativa y entrevistas no estructuradas, exploramos las vivencias y las prácticas de información de comunidades marginadas, y las relacionamos con cómo vivencian la transitoriedad a lo largo de...

Throughout the 1990s, Argentina has witnessed a rearticulation of images of perilousness. Targeting specific minorities, these images actualize negative feelings towards minority members in the “common citizen”. Approaching discursive practices less as a reflection of “reality” than as an instrument for its construction, we focus on examining the discourse about immigrantion produced by the Federal Police, to analyze displacements of meaning operated by power institutions. We observe how, by propitiating the overlap of the categories “immigrant”, “undocumented” and “delinquent”, police discourse constructs certain sectors of the population as a social threat, as to legitimize the exercise of repressive practices.En la última década, se registra en la Argentina una rearticulación de imágenes de peligrosidad que, tomando como blanco a determinadas minorías, actualiza en el/la “ciudadano/a común” sentimientos negativos hacia sus miembros. Partiendo de un enfoque que ve las prácticas di...

Throughout the 1990s, Argentina has witnessed a rearticulation of images of perilousness. Targeting specific minorities, these images actualize negative feelings towards minority members in the “common citizen”. Approaching discursive practices less as a reflection of “reality” than as an instrument for its construction, we focus on examining the discourse about immigrantion produced by the Federal Police, to analyze displacements of meaning operated by power institutions. We observe how, by propitiating the overlap of the categories “immigrant”, “undocumented” and “delinquent”, police discourse constructs certain sectors of the population as a social threat, as to legitimize the exercise of repressive practices.En la última década, se registra en la Argentina una rearticulación de imágenes de peligrosidad que, tomando como blanco a determinadas minorías, actualiza en el/la “ciudadano/a común” sentimientos negativos hacia sus miembros. Partiendo de un enfoque que ve las prácticas di...

Throughout the 1990s, Argentina has witnessed a rearticulation of images of perilousness. Targeting specific minorities, these images actualize negative feelings towards minority members in the “common citizen”. Approaching discursive practices less as a reflection of “reality” than as an instrument for its construction, we focus on examining the discourse about immigrantion produced by the Federal Police, to analyze displacements of meaning operated by power institutions. We observe how, by propitiating the overlap of the categories “immigrant”, “undocumented” and “delinquent”, police discourse constructs certain sectors of the population as a social threat, as to legitimize the exercise of repressive practices.En la última década, se registra en la Argentina una rearticulación de imágenes de peligrosidad que, tomando como blanco a determinadas minorías, actualiza en el/la “ciudadano/a común” sentimientos negativos hacia sus miembros. Partiendo de un enfoque que ve las prácticas di...

Throughout the 1990s, Argentina has witnessed a rearticulation of images of perilousness. Targeting specific minorities, these images actualize negative feelings towards minority members in the “common citizen”. Approaching discursive practices less as a reflection of “reality” than as an instrument for its construction, we focus on examining the discourse about immigrantion produced by the Federal Police, to analyze displacements of meaning operated by power institutions. We observe how, by propitiating the overlap of the categories “immigrant”, “undocumented” and “delinquent”, police discourse constructs certain sectors of the population as a social threat, as to legitimize the exercise of repressive practices.En la última década, se registra en la Argentina una rearticulación de imágenes de peligrosidad que, tomando como blanco a determinadas minorías, actualiza en el/la “ciudadano/a común” sentimientos negativos hacia sus miembros. Partiendo de un enfoque que ve las prácticas di...

This qualitative thematic analysis study explored the experiences of DREAMers, undocumented students raised in the US awaiting the passage of the DREAM Act. We used a phenomenologically-informed textual analysis which resulted in a summary essence of the experience of DREAMers, describing how even though DREAMers are like other contributing members of society “except for a nine-digit number,” certain characteristics make their experience unique. Two websites containing experiences of individuals identifying as DREAMers as they wait for the passage of the DREAM Act, were analyzed to draw out specific themes that represented DREAMers’ experiences. Results revealed the following themes, Uncertainty about the Future, Resilience in Spite of Barriers, Education as a Form of Identity and Empowerment, the Influence of Time, Family Sacrifices for a Better Life, Disconnect from their Countries of Origin, the Meaning of “Undocumented,” and “Collective Survival.” These were summarized in a desc...

Being the target of constant discrimination and marginalization can often cause intense negative psychological reactions and shame for undocumented students. The following qualitative study describes past and current undocumented Latinx students’ experiences of educational inequality in higher education influenced by labels associated with “being undocumented.” In this study we used a constructivist theoretical perspective which enabled us to focus on undocumented participants’ perspectives, experiences, meaning-making processes, values, and beliefs. Data was collected through hour-long, semi-structured interviews with five undocumented students. Student narratives were analyzed using a multi-layered analysis approach: (1) narrative, (2) thematic, and (3) critical incident analysis. Findings for this study provided insight on the narratives of carrying labels, themes associated with various labels, and critical incidents in the narratives and lives of undocumented students. Through ...

Introduction: Undocumented migrants are at high risk of adverse consequences during crises because of a lack of access to essential securities and sources of support. This study aims to describe the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the health and living circumstances of precarious migrants in Switzerland and to assess whether those undergoing legal status regularization fared better than undocumented migrants.Materials and methods: This cross-sectional mixed methods study was conducted during the COVID-19 lockdown in April–May 2020. Undocumented and recently regularized migrants taking part in an ongoing cohort study were asked to respond to an online questionnaire. A subsample was selected to undergo semi-directed phone interviews.Results: Overall, 117 of the 379 (30.9%) cohort study participants responded to the questionnaire. Seventeen interviews were conducted. Migrants faced cumulative and rapidly progressive difficulties in essential life domains. As a consequence, they showed...

Undocumented Latinx students are currently one of the most disenfranchised racial/ethnic groups in the United States. As demography reaches critical mass levels in many states, visibility has triggered new economic and policy imperatives. The Latinx populations in many states have created a sense of urgency regarding socioeconomic concerns. This cultural shift is re-framing the debate on access to higher education, in-state tuition benefits and labor market prospects. These issues have reached a cultural tipping point, demonstrating that innovative research is needed to address the growing complexity undocumented Latino students face in the K-20 higher education pipeline. The theoretical framework of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) was examined through previous scholarship in a variety of disciplines and applied to qualitative and quantitative studies of undocumented students. This research examines the potential implications researching undocumented students through the lens of AI can ha...

This exploratory study examines the experiences of undocumented students at Hawthorne College, an elite, liberal arts institution with sanctuary status. Drawing primarily on a questionnaire and qualitative interviews, it considers 1) whether undocumented and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) students on a sanctuary campus experience the characteristic psychosocial difficulties that mark the lives of undocumented students elsewhere and 2) the extent to which institutional policies mitigate these challenges. The research reveals that sanctuary is neither a panacea for undocumented students’ concerns nor is it a meaningless symbol. Students are protected from some typical barriers to college success, experience other barriers in classic ways, and face still other constraints quite differently in a privileged, high-pressure educational environment. The study adds to emerging research on the undocumented experience in higher education and offers preliminary insights into the ...

Background Undocumented pregnant women constitute a vulnerable group of people who lack equal access to pregnancy care. Previous research has shown that undocumented migrants encounter difficulties in accessing health services, the onset of prenatal care is delayed, and women have an increased risk for infectious diseases. The aim of this study was to describe the use of maternal health care services and the obstetric outcomes of undocumented women in Helsinki, capital city of Finland, in addition to comparing the results with all pregnant women in Finland. Methods The study was a retrospective register-based study consisting of data collected between 2014 to 2018 from the electronic medical records of the public maternity clinic and maternity hospital in Helsinki, Finland. The study population consists of 62 individual pregnancies of undocumented women. The results of the study were compared with national data on parturients and deliveries (N = 47,274 women) and with prenatal scree...

Since 1980, state governments have passed over 1700 pieces of immigration legislation equal in the number of permissive immigration laws to restrictive immigration laws. Driver’s Licenses are a policy area directly under state jurisdiction in which states are creating legislation regarding licenses for those unable to prove legal residence. This brief considers California and Oregon as case studies to examine state variation on driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants, and suggests that structural opportunities and the agency of state issue entrepreneurs opposing driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants influence the process and ultimate outcome of driver’s license legislative efforts.

While empirical studies have focused on the struggles and barriers that Dreamers have faced in their pursuit for higher education, there is a lack of research examining how effective services provided by post-secondary institutions are for Dreamers. This study examined the effectiveness of higher education services for Dreamers using a mixed-method design to support the idea that current services provided by Augsburg University are not effective for Dreamers and that there is a need to improve or cater services to accommodate Dreamers attending the institution. The study included a total of 16 self-identified Latinx, undergraduate students who are non-citizens of the United States; 15 of which are students at Augsburg University located in Minneapolis, Minnesota and one of which attended 2 community colleges located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Among the 16 participants, 6 immigration statuses emerged from the quantitative responses collected with additional findings indicating that 8...

The purpose of the study was to gain a better understanding of the current experiences of immigrant Latino fathers and their families in Southern California, and to examine the barriers and facilitators that impacted their paternal involvement. The literature suggests that father-absence diminishes the ability of a child to thrive in life and yet immigrant Latino fathers are more at risk of all the factors that lead to father-absence, such as poverty and other added stressors. Likewise, these fathers have been noted to experience a lack of fathering in their childhood, which speaks on generational trauma creating the father wound within a family indicating the need for healing on childhood pain. The study used a qualitative design with individual, in-depth interviews of ten participants recruited through snowball sampling and a non-profit faith-based organization. The interviews were conducted using a custom designed semi-structured interview guide to examine father’s and adult fami...