Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Differences In French Law Pertaining To Refugees From Former Colonies: A Case Study Of North Africa And Indochina, Lauren Bergin

Honors Theses

Colonial relations between colonizer and colonized are an interesting yet often understudied part of the legal field. This thesis will focus on these links within the relationship between France and two of its former colonies: North Africa and Indochina. In order to discover more information on these relationships, I take a historical approach focusing on legal documents, debates, and decrees, both from the French government and international bodies and representatives such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The resulting discoveries show that French legal documents were far more concerned with North Africa compared to Indochina, both regarding asylum …

Refugee Advocacy Organizations: Factors That Influence Success In The United States And Ireland, Caleb Elkington-Stauss

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis is a comparative study of refugee advocacy organizations in Ireland and in the United States. The goal is to research and study some of the best practices that refugee support organizations utilize and report how these two countries address the ever-growing refugee crisis. This study assesses the applications and operations in both organizations and determines how these practices contribute to the fulfillment of their missions. This better understanding of the strengths and struggles experienced by these organizations will support the development of a model and framework for successful social welfare initiatives. Within this thesis, the social initiatives in …

Perspectives On (In)Human(E) Displacement And Migration, Jordan Carey

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This interdisciplinary, multimedia document gathers various media pertaining to human displacement and migration. The collected perspectives take the form of poetry, academic research, books, photography, as well as un-sortable multimedia projects. Depending on the source, they are cited, introduced, quoted, summarized and/or analyzed. These sources are connected by their enactment of creative resistance, authenticity, proximity to lived experience with displacement and migration, and dedication to uplift the very truths silenced by colonialism and every intersecting mode of oppression that seeks to control and dominate. These truths are that every single human seeking asylum is a capable, resilient, intelligent, self-reliant, creative, …

¿Por Qué No Vale La Pena Salvarnos? Experiencias De Mujeres Inmigrantes Latinoamericanas Con Políticas De Inmigración Post-9/11 Y Solicitantes De Asilo En Los Estados Unidos, Kaye Romans

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Esta tesis aborda la Crimmigration—la convergencia de las políticas criminales y la ley de inmigración—en un mundo post-9/11 en lo que se refiere a las mujeres inmigrantes latinoamericanas que buscan asilo en los Estados Unidos. Utilizando la jurisprudencia, la legislación y la erudición legal, sitúo estas políticas en el contexto más amplio de la ley de inmigración tanto a nivel nacional como internacional, centrándome en la legislación y políticas claves posteriores al 9/11 tales como la Operation Streamline, la Operation Liberty Shield y el Title 42, así como la jurisprudencia clave posterior al 9/11 que trata con las mujeres latinoamericanas …

"Can I Trust You?" Observing Human Intervention At The Border, Julia Grace Marmor

Senior Projects Spring 2023

Current border policies and interventions operate from a stance of efficiency over the value of human life and dignity. This project presents ethnographic data of a trip to work along the US-Mexico border in a humanitarian organization as means of identifying moments in everyday interactions and policies that highlight larger, structural values of authorities in receiving migrants to the United States. Through analysis of observations in this landscape, the significance of humanity and small-scale disruptions employed by nonprofit groups in the area serve to open up moments that are often overlooked in the study of border politics and humanitarian work.

Why Are We Not Worth Saving? Latin American Immigrant Women's Experiences With Post-9/11 Crimmigration Policies And Asylum-Seeking In The United States, Kaye Romans

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis discusses Crimmigration—the convergence of criminal policies and immigration law—in a post-9/11 world as it relates to Latin American Immigrant women seeking asylum in the United States. Utilizing case law, legislation, and legal scholarship, I situate these policies in the broader context of immigration law both nationally and internationally, focusing on key post-9/11 legislation and policies such as Operation Streamline, Operation Liberty Shield, and Title 42, as well as key post-9/11 case law dealing with Latin American women seeking asylum in the United States. With these foundational understandings, I provide possible solutions that would lessen the harms presented to …

Central Americans At A Crossroads: Asylum Seekers’ Testimonios Of Mental Health After Detention And Family Separation, Corie E. Schwabenland Garcia

Master's Theses

Though Central American asylum seekers are presently hypervisible in the U.S. consciousness, this population continues to be inadequately understood or cared for. Discussion of this population often presents them as a helpless and damaged population, in need of saving, fixing, or shelter -- beyond their trauma, they cease to exist. This qualitative study utilizes first-person testimonio methodology to understand the psychological experiences of Central American migrants seeking asylum in the United States, the stressors they face, and the mental health support that can and should be provided to them. Their stories speak to a space of sociopolitical precarity in the …

Patriarchy’S Link To Intimate Partner Violence: Applications To Survivors’ Asylum Claims, Daniel G. Saunders, Tina Jiwatram-Negrón, Natalie Nanasi, Iris Cardenas

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

Eligibility for asylum for survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) has recently been contested. We summarize social science evidence to show how such survivors generally meet asylum criteria. Studies consistently show a relationship between patriarchal factors and IPV, thereby establishing a key asylum criterion that women are being persecuted because of their status as women. Empirical support is also provided for other asylum criteria, specifically: patriarchal norms contribute to state actors’ unwillingness to protect survivors, and survivors’ political opinions are linked to an escalation of perpetrators’ violence. The findings have implications for policy reform and supporting individual asylum-seekers.

Inadequate Immigration System For Asylum Seekers At The Us-Mexico Border, Kyli Fox Soug

Ballard Brief

The history of immigration in the US goes back to its founding. However, in recent years, immigration trends at the US-Mexico border have gained media and political attention as more migrants flee to the border and face challenges as they seek refuge in the US. The inadequate immigration system has been exacerbated as legislation like the Migrant Protection Protocols and metering complicates the legal system and forces asylum seekers into border towns. Border patrol's misuse of resources and insufficient immigration data also contributes to the inadequate immigration system. Families and individuals seeking legal asylum at the border are being detained …

Captivity As Crisis Response: Migration, The Pandemic, And Forms Of Confinement, Eleanor Paynter

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

During Europe’s recent “refugee crisis,” Italy responded to increased migrant arrivals by sea with progressively restrictive border and asylum policies. While crisis-response restrictions are perhaps unsurprising, those implemented since 2014 have produced a set of situations that appear, at least initially, paradoxical: Following Interior Minister Matteo Salvini’s 2018 “Closed Ports” campaign, independently-operated rescue ships continue to be blocked from disembarking the migrants they have rescued. At the same time, asylum officials have rejected claims for protection at higher rates, while border officials deport a minority of those whose claims are rejected. Thus, under the guise of crisis management, some migrants …

Impact Of Forensic Medical Evaluations On Immigration Relief Grant Rates And Correlates Of Outcomes In The United States., Holly G. Atkinson, Katarzyna Wyka, Kathryn Hampton, Christian Seno, Elizabeth Yim, Deborah Ottenheimer, Nermeen Arastu

Publications and Research

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of forensic medical evaluations on grant rates for applicants seeking immigration relief in the United States (U.S.) and to identify significant correlates of grant success. We conducted a retrospective analysis of 2584 cases initiated by Physicians for Human Rights between 2008-2018 that included forensic medical evaluations, and found that 81.6% of applicants for various forms of immigration relief were granted relief, as compared to the national asylum grant rate of 42.4%. Among the study’s cohort, the majority (73.7%) of positive outcomes were grants of asylum. A multivariable regression analysis revealed …

Exploring The Fourth Reality: Cultural Anthropologists' Reflections On Expert Witnessing For Asylum Cases, Mary Ruth Wossum-Fisher

Masters Theses

This thesis seeks to contribute to the small but growing literature on anthropology and expert witnessing by conducting ethnographic research with anthropologists who have worked as expert witnesses. The goal of this project is to illuminate how anthropologists reflect on the production of knowledge, ethics, and their identity in the realm of expert witnessing. Through twelve online questionnaires and six follow-up interviews, this research discusses how ten anthropologists and two political scientists conceived of the “Fourth Reality,” or “the reflexive awareness of the expert witness as an expert witness” (Phillips 2017: 42) throughout the asylum process. This thesis covers: 1) …

An Inferentially Robust Look At Two Competing Explanations For The Surge In Unauthorized Migration From Central America, Nick Santos

Dissertations

The last 8 years have seen a dramatic increase in the flow of Central American apprehensions by the U.S. Border Patrol. Explanations for this surge in apprehensions have been split between two leading hypotheses. Most academic scholars, immigrant advocates, progressive media outlets, and human rights organizations identify poverty and violence (the Poverty and Violence Hypothesis) in Central America as the primary triggers responsible. In contrast, while most government officials, conservative think tanks, and the agencies that work in the immigration and border enforcement realm admit poverty and violence may underlie some decisions to migrate, they instead blame lax U.S. immigration …

Seeking Asylum In A Modern Society: Global Responses To Latin American Migration, Rebecca Dickinson

Senior Honors Projects

The United States is no stranger to asylum seekers and refugees. The most famous seaport in the country houses a 305-foot-tall statue of a woman bearing a torch with words from the poem The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus etched at her feet: “‘Give me your tired, your poor, /Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.’”^[1] The Statue of Liberty is a symbolic representation of open arms to immigrants from all walks of life. But if everyone is welcome, why do so few actually gain entrance?

US interventionism policies in the 20th century have defined the lives of millions …

The Violence Of Asylum: The Case Of Undocumented Chinese Migration To The Us, Amy Hsin, Sofya Aptekar

Publications and Research

A sizable portion of the undocumented population in the US is Chinese, yet they are an understudied group. We integrate a multidisciplinary body of work on undocumented Chinese migration with the sociology of migration and analyze interviews with undocumented migrants, community organizers, social workers, and others working in the Chinese community in New York City, as well as participant observation of community events. We show that restrictive immigration policies exclude most Chinese migrants from legal entry into the US, force many to endure dangerous migration routes, incur extraordinary debt and bind Chinese migrants’ experience of illegality with asylum seeking. The …

Of Body And Mind: Bioarchaeological Analysis Of Nineteenth And Early Twentieth Century Anatomization And Institutionalization In Siena, Italy, Jacqueline M. Berger

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Institutional bioarchaeology is a growing sub-field within bioarchaeology, particularly social bioarchaeology as informed by the biocultural approach. However, the majority of studies in this vein have primarily addressed English-speaking contexts, to include analyses of institutional assemblages preserved archaeologically, and anatomical collections. The present study examines of the Siena Craniological Collection (SCC) - located in Siena, Italy. The collection was assembled between 1862-1931, and originally contained remains of 1,122 patients from both the general and mental hospitals in operation in Siena during this period (Brasili-Gualandi & Gualdi-Russo, 1989a). In addition to demographic analysis of the Siena Craniological Collection as a whole, …

An Exploration Of Factors Related To Suicidality And Trauma In Lgbtq Refugees And Asylees, Aaron Burgess

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In a global context where attitudes towards refugees and asylum seekers as well as LGBTQ human rights are becoming increasingly virulent, LGBTQ refugees and asylum seekers are at an increased risk for a number of mental health problems, including suicidal ideation and attempts. While evidence has shown high prevalence of suicidality among refugees and LGBTQ people separately, no studies have specifically examined this phenomenon among those who are members of both groups – that is, LGBTQ refugees and asylum seekers. Thus, the purpose of this dissertation is to explore factors related to the experiences distress, trauma, and suicidality among LGBTQ …

Burden-Sharing, Security, And The International Protection Of Displaced Persons: The United States And Italy As Case Studies, Paul Celentano

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Less than 5 percent of those displaced by war and persecution receive permanent sanctuary. This is because the states tasked with protecting them are wary of the “burdens” that they pose, framing them as threats to national economies, budgets, and public safety. Consequently, states seek to share these burdens with other states in order to minimize their own international protection obligations. While the modern norm of “burden-sharing” has existed since at least the mid-twentieth century, it is vague and, therefore, permissive of a wide range of state behavior. When viewed through the lens of “securitization,” states utilize alarmist rhetoric and …

We Need New Myths: Art-Making In The Pandemic And What Follows, Laleh Khadivi

Journal of Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Scholarship

Writer and professor Laleh Khadivi in We Need New Myths juxtaposes the stillness born from shelter-in-place orders with the constant motion of migrants around the world—seeking asylum, a new life, and survival.

The Politics Of The Visible/Invisible Border: Canada's Responses And (In)Actions Towards Refugee Claimants' Protection, Monica Romero

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis explores Canadian responses towards unexpected arrivals of asylum seekers at their borders. Grounded in critical and feminist geopolitics, it aims to unveil hidden and concealed policies that are implemented behind a narrative of humanitarianism. In particular, it takes the land border crossings from the US to Canada that occurred after the implementation of restrictive asylum policies in the US in 2017 and following years. Although migratory movements can be attributed to several factors, this displacement was triggered by Trump’s anti-immigrant narratives and policies aimed to decrease refugee and immigrant arrivals to their territory.

The dissertation’s central argument is …

It Is Time To Get Back To Basics On The Border, Donna Coltharp

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract forthcoming.

A Is For Asylum Seeker / A De Asilo [Toc], Rachel Ida Buff, Alejandra Oliva

Sociology

A clear and concise A to Z of keywords that echo our current human rights crisis

As millions are forced to leave their nations of origin due to political, economic, and environmental peril, rising racism and xenophobia has led to increasingly harsh policies. A mass-mediated political circus obscures both histories of migration and longstanding definitions of words for people on the move, fomenting widespread linguistic confusion. Under this circus tent, there is no regard for history, legal advocacy, or jurisprudence. Yet in a world where the differences between “undocumented migrant” and “asylum seeker” can mean life or death, words have …

The Experience Of Guatemalan Women Who Seek Asylum In United States Courts: A Legacy Of Paternalism And Gendered Violence, Nina E. Harris

Honors Papers

Karen Musalo, a leading asylum attorney, explains,“In the United States, few refugee issues have been as controversial as that of gender asylum.” Despite perceived progress, inconsistent judicial decisions engender doubts about the viability of gender-based asylum cases. The U.S. courts continue to see violence against women as a personal or family matter rather than a pattern of accepted social behavior supported by the political and legal authorities. Using cases from Guatemalan women seeking asylum, my research scrutinizes the asylum system, and shows how the U.S. furthers a colonial, paternalistic narrative—allowing U.S. judges, adjudicators, and policymakers to decide who is worthy—or …

Review Of Refuge Beyond Reach: How Rich Democracies Repel Asylum Seekers By David Scott Fitzgerald, Wolfe Padawer

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Review of Refuge Beyond Reach: How Rich Democracies Repel Asylum Seekers by David Scott FitzGerald, Oxford University Press (2019).

Overcoming Tools Of Oppression: Plain Language And Human-Centered Design For Social Justice, Michela Sims

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Technical communication audiences are increasingly international and intercultural. Some of these audiences may be vulnerable and suffering trauma following violations of their human rights and dignity. In such cases, technical documents can serve to reinforce the oppression experienced by these audiences. Technical communicators must adapt and create methods to communicate ethically and responsibly with these audiences through a social justice lens. This thesis utilizes adapted plain language guidelines from plainlanguage.gov combined with human-centered design (“HCD”) guiding principles to perform a qualitative document analysis of technical government forms. The findings of this analysis demonstrate a need for continued integration of plain …

Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, Jorge Baron, Maria Kolby-Wolfe, Kristen Smith Dayley, Twila Bird, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

The Northwest Immigrant Rights Program has been around for 35 years, started in 1984 specifically to help Central American refugees during the mid-1980s, when they were fleeing civil wars. A pro-bono group of attorneys performing "direct legal representation", helping low income community members who are navigating different aspects of the immigration system. NWIRP also engages in "systemic advocacy" which attempts to change systems and policies revolving around asylum and immigration rights.

Risking Rescue: The Politics Of Precarity In Mediterranean Crossing, Eleanor Paynter

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

Over the course of Europe’s recent refugee crisis, the role of Search and Rescue (SAR) has changed dramatically, first forming a critical part of (inter)national responses to the crisis, and now occupying an antagonistic position, as countries have closed their ports to NGO-operated vessels and the European Commission (EC) has ceased naval Search and Rescue operations. As a result, migrants crossing the Central Mediterranean face different and increased risks, including dying at sea, being held by European authorities, or being apprehended closer to Libya and sent to a Libyan detention camp.

In response to these shifts, groups that continue SAR …

Humanitarianism Is Not Permissiveness: Defending The Integrity Of The Spanish Border And The Lives Of African Immigrants, Genevieve Hoyt

Master's Theses

Spain has recently become one of the top destinations for people immigrating to the European Union (EU), with upwards of 1 million African immigrants living in Spain today (“Immigrant and Emigrant Populations” 2018). This heavy flow of immigration into a country whose economy is barely afloat has caused a crisis for not only Spain but also the EU as a whole. Illegal immigration from Africa has proved to be a serious problem in Spain, bringing human rights violations at the border; an increasing unemployment rate; and growing discrimination against black immigrants in the social structure. This paper will analyze how …

Arkanabad- Where Drowning Is As Common As Dying A Natural Death, Mariam Ahmed

MSJ Capstone Projects

Today, the world faces the highest number of displacements ever recorded (United Nations [UN], n.d.), with refugees and asylum seekers amounting to 28.5 million, according to data released by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) (UNHCR, n.d.). Rohingya Muslims, belonging to the Rakhine district in Myanmar (Ahmed, 2009), form a large section of these displaced individuals (UNHCR, n.d.), who are forced to flee their homeland in the face of atrocities afflicted by the Government of Myanmar (Warr, & Wong, 1997).

According to UNHCR, Rohingya are one of the most persecuted minorities in the world (Baloch, 2017), subjected to …

Marta, Marta, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Marta is a member of the support community for Central American refugees arriving in the southwest US. In this interview, Marta shares her own story of crossing the border at a young age with her daughter and her life in the US. Marta was self-employed for many years and later went on to serve in the US Army in Iraq. For the last 9 months, she and her husband Israel and son Josue have worked tirelessly to help make sure the current refugees arriving are cared for after they are released from detention centers and begin their lives in the …