Full Description
In many respects, the United States remains a nation of immigrants. This is the first book length treatment of the impact of the 1996 welfare reform act on a wide range of immigrant groups in North America. Contributors to the book draw on ethnographic fieldwork, government data, and original survey research to show how welfare reform has reinforced socio-economic hardships for working poor immigrants. As the essays reveal, reform laws have increased the social isolation of poor immigrant households and discouraged large numbers of qualified immigrants from applying for health and welfare services. All of the articles highlight the importance of examining federal policy guidelines in conjunction with local enforcement policies, labor market dynamics, and immigrant attitudes toward government agencies.
Contents
Acknowledgments Foreword by Ronald Walters Abbreviations and Terms Tables Overview Introduction by Philip Kretsedemas and Ana Aparicio Welfare Reform and Immigrants: A Policy Review by Audrey Singer No Safe Haven: Work, Welfare, and the Growth of Immigrant Exclusion by John Sheilds Immigrant Communities after Welfare Reform Una Puerta Abierta y Puerta Cerrada. Citizenship, Healthcare, and Welfare Reform in New Mexico by Lisa Cacari Stone and Ana Quiroz Disparate Welfare Needs and Impacts of Welfare Reform Among Illinois Immigrants by Rob Paral Avoiding the State: Haitian Immigrants and Welfare Services in Miami-Dade County by Philip Kretsedemas Immigrant Women after Welfare Reform Immigrants' Access to Public Health Care Systems in New York's "Post-Reform" Era by Ana Aparicio Welfare Reform in Santa Clara California: The Experiences of Mexican and Vietnamese Immigrant Women by Doris Ng Refugees and Resettlement Community-Based Participatory Action Research (CBPAR): Offering Hmong Welfare Recipients' Voices for Dialogue and Change by Kalyani Rai Resettlement Experiences of Somali Refugee Women in Toronto by Arlene Herman and Neita Kay Israelite Welfare and Immigration Reform on the U.S.-Mexico Border Border Residents Manage the U.S. Immigration and Welfare Reforms by Randy Capps, Jacqueline Hagan, and Nestor Rodriguez Con la ayuda de dios? El Pasoans at the Border by Kathleen Staudt and Randy Capps Closing Remarks Reflections on Immigrant Hardships after Welfare Reform: New Challenges and Changing Trends by Kalyani Rai, Philip Kretsedemas, and Ana Aparicio About the Contributors
