Human Capital or Racial Capitalism? Workplace and Community Integration of Afghans in United States

• In Event: 20881 - Section on Labor and Labor Movements Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 2: Labor in Global Perspective

Abstract

The technical skills, knowledge, and experience possessed by an individual, in theory, should provide heightened opportunities for professional and economic advancement (Bagdadli et al., 2021; Becker, 1983). However, many refugees with professional credentials cannot apply their skills, knowledge, and experience in the labor force once they settle in the United States (Adversario, 2017; Basilio et al., 2017; Hagan et al., 2011). This paper uses qualitative methods to analyze the relationship between education, work experience, and integration outcomes of refugees in the United States, mainly in the DC region. Drawing from preliminary data collected with a research team at American University interviewing migrants who came to the US at some point during their lives, whether recently or not, this paper investigates the dynamics that hinder refugees’ access to do the work that they want to do. The first contribution of this paper is a spotlight into the experiences and thinking of two hard-to-reach groups – the ways in which Afghans, most of whom described in this paper came during 2020 or 2021, and their families experience the society and economy, can draw large insights into social forces surrounding employment, resettlement, and belonging through time. These findings follow that of Castañeda (2018) in developing an understanding of integration through the lens of belonging – this paper expands on those contributions by investigating belonging in an economic lens for a different group. The second is an argument that in a system of racial capitalism, economic integration can make or break an adult’s integration trajectory in the United States. That is, systems of racial capitalism work, directly and indirectly, vis-a-vis labor markets, to structurally undermine the earnings potential, and thus, integratory potential, of individual migrants and refugees.

Authors

• Daniel Jenks, University of Pennsylvania

• Ernesto Castañeda, American University