Poster #54 - Dehumanized and Devalued: Undesirable Placement in Refugee and Special Immigrant Visa Resettlement Clients

• In Event: ASC Poster Session I

Abstract

Employing a qualitative participant observation approach as part of a broader case study design, the current study aims to critically analyze the U.S.’s use of the Special Immigrant Visa program in Iraq and Afghanistan by examining the individuals it serves, the agencies through which services are rendered, and the state’s vested geopolitical interests in the program. Engaging in active participation, I observed and interacted with those who work within, assist, or utilize the services of Commonwealth Catholic Charities’ refugee resettlement program, including case workers, service providers, and resettlement clients themselves. One critically important finding is the placement of SIVs and refugees into the least desirable positions within society. This is particularly relevant regarding work and living conditions, conditions that, given a lack of leverage in the form of accepted prior work and credit histories, clients are forced to accept. Despite the tireless effort of agency employees to ensure client safety and fulfillment of basic needs, resettlement organizations are forced to operate in a system in which funding is contingent upon case numbers, which have been reduced to virtually nothing as a result of the Trump administration’s increasingly draconian immigration policies.

Author

• Sarah Pedigo Kulzer, Randolph-Macon College