Asylum-Seekers’ and the Stranger: Building Networks in Transition

• In Event: International Migration Section Refereed Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): 02. Venezuelan immigrants and the migration process

Abstract

In recent years post pandemic, there has been a dramatic increase of unhoused individuals in part due to the rise of asylum seekers (Meyer, Wyse, Williams 2025). This study explores the experiences of families entering and exiting an emergency shelter. In-depth interviews with asylum-seeking migrants and non-migrants allow for an understanding of their social network availability and utilization. In particular, this study traces the changing dynamics of migrant social ties and networks from their homeland to the U.S., amid increasing federal political hostility toward immigrants, while they struggle to meet basic needs like housing and employment. This, study asks: How do newly arrived asylum-seeking migrants adapt their social networks to navigate housing and legal precarity in the United States?

Author

• Xochitl Y de Anda Arellanes, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities