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2024 News
Im/migrant Lives Season 2 Episode 1: Florida’s SB 1718: One Year Later
Florida’s SB 1718, a law that criminalized many aspects of life as an immigrant, passed in the Florida legislature and was signed into law in 2023. One year later, how have immigrants responded to this law, and what are the effects and implications for the state of Florida? In this episode, we will discuss SB 1718’s effects on immigrants’ lives and in their communities.
August 14, 2024Podcast
Do I Really Need to Check That Box?’ Ethnoracial Ambiguity Among Indigenous North Africans in the United States
Publication in Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, August, 1–18. Castañeda, Heide, and Amine Bit. 2024. This article examines the experiences of Amazigh immigrants (plural: Imazighen) and how they negotiate ethnoracial hierarchies in the United States. Imazighen are Indigenous peoples from North Africa; upon arrival to the U.S., they are confronted with ethnoracial categories into which they don’t fit neatly, particularly due to their Indigenous status.
August 11, 2024Publications & Products
Im/migrant Lives Season 1 Episode 5: Unpacking the relationship between immigration and crime
Opponents of immigration often link immigration to crime, and rhetoric in the media has casted immigrants as criminals, leading some public officials to propose greater immigration control as a mechanism to reduce crime. This episode examines the relationship between immigration and crime to debunk the many myths circulating in the media about immigrants to the U.S.
May 29, 2024Podcast
In Florida, migrants’ families are stressed and anxious. Here’s why.
IWRC was quoted in article that discusses the concept of "normalized expendability," a term coined in a study led by Dr. Elizabeth Aranda, which explores how immigrant communities were excluded from pandemic relief despite their critical role as frontline workers. This exclusion has had lasting effects on their social and economic well-being. The article highlights the ongoing mental health challenges and stress faced by immigrant families, particularly those affected by policies like DACA and recent immigration legislation in Florida.
May 24, 2024Policy Analysis
Breaking down South Florida's record Cuban immigration numbers
Dr. Elizabeth Aranda was interviewed and quoted in Spectrum News. In the interview, she discusses the unprecedented wave of Cuban immigration to Florida, noting that while many Cubans migrate by land through new routes like Nicaragua, sea crossings still occur. She highlights that Tampa has become the second-largest hub for Cuban migrants in Florida, after South Florida. Dr. Aranda provids expert insight into the political and economic factors driving this migration, including Cuba’s enduring dictatorship and policy changes that have facilitated migration to the U.S.
April 27, 2024Policy Analysis
Mental Health: The Silent Crisis Among Immigrants in the United States
In this blog post, Liz Ventura, MPH, CPH, Research Associate at the Center, delves into the mental health challenges faced by immigrants, exacerbated by structural barriers, including restrictive immigration policies and socio-economic inequities. Drawing from her personal experiences and academic research, she highlights the underutilization of mental health services within immigrant communities and the need for culturally sensitive care and policy reforms to address these disparities. The blog advocates for a holistic approach to mental health that integrates community support and empathetic public health strategies.
April 15, 2024Publications & Products
Im/migrant Lives Season 1 Episode 4: Security at the border and racial profiling
In recent decades security at the US Southern border has increased to stop the arrivals of immigrants and refugees. This episode examines how border security, specifically the presence of the border wall in Arizona communities and Customs and Border Patrol’s practice of screening residents at border checkpoints, affects the Latino/a/x population of young adults in the region. We will discuss racial profiling practices, how they impact human rights, and how they erode residents’—including US citizens’—sense of belonging to the nation.
March 25, 2024Podcast
Normalized Expendability: Navigating Immigrant Legal Status during a Global Pandemic
Publication in American Behavioral Scientist. Aranda, Elizabeth, Elizabeth Vaquera, Heide Castañeda, and Melanie Escue. 2024. This study uses longitudinal qualitative data to explore how undocumented immigrants in Florida navigated the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings reveal how legal violence, compounded vulnerability, and exclusion from pandemic aid disproportionately affected immigrants working on the frontlines. The research demonstrates how policies normalizing unequal treatment led to heightened risks for these communities, exacerbating their economic and social marginalization.
February 6, 2024Publications & Products
New podcast “Im/migrant Lives” highlights impact of public policy and community organizations on im/migrant communities
The Im/migrant Well-Being Research Center’s new podcast features thought leaders and scholars and seeks to inform the public about how policies and community organizations can solve the most pressing problems facing im/migrant communities.
January 25, 2024Research
Im/migrant Lives Season 1 Episode 3: Revamping Asylum
The right to seek asylum is protected under US federal law and the right to seek safety from persecution is backed by international law. Despite this, as immigrants and asylum seekers cross into the United States along the US-Mexico border, Congressional Representatives are negotiating changes to the US asylum system to slow the flow of migrants into the US. In this episode, we discuss the impact of these proposals and how the US asylum system could be revamped to ensure that a humanitarian approach guides changes to the asylum system.
January 24, 2024Podcast
Ask PolitiFact: What branch of government is ‘really’ responsible for the crisis at the border?
Dr. Elizabeth Aranda was interviewed and quoted in an article by the Poynter Institute’s Politifact. Dr. Aranda highlights that while all three branches of government are involved in immigration policy, Congress holds the greatest responsibility due to its failure to update immigration laws since the 1990s. She pointed out that the lack of legal pathways for immigrants has contributed to the ongoing challenges at the border.
January 17, 2024Policy Analysis