Policy Briefs

Learning to Play, Playing to Heal: An Evaluation of Early Childhood Education Access for Refugee Children in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh

The issue of refugee education has been an enduring crisis in Cox Bazar, Bangladesh, where over half of the Rohingya refugee population are children. Various solutions and initiatives have been posed to alleviate the issue of refugee education access in Cox Bazar. However, few have been analyzed for their effectiveness on psychosocial, socioemotional, and learning outcomes amongst Rohingya children. In this policy brief, Daniel Hiếu Thuận Bui examines the efficacy of early childhood education for refugee children and offers recommendations to strenghthen and expand programs

Addressing the Shift in Child Welfare Practices Serving Latinx Immigrant Population During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Policy Recommendations and Future Directions

Read BIMI's newest policy brief, Addressing the Shift in Child Welfare Practices Serving Latinx Immigrant Population During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Policy Recommendations and Future Directions, by Marisol Sanchez and Socorro Ramirez-Gamiño. Based on research conducted by Lovato, Finno-Velasquez, Sepp, et al. (2022) at the peak of the pandemic, this policy brief presents four policy recommendations for addressing the requirements of families who are either at risk of or currently engaged with the child welfare system. These recommendations are intended for policy makers, social service leaders, and child welfare personnel.

Zindagi: Lives of the Afghan Community in the Bay Area

BIMI's newest policy brief, "Zindagi: Lives of the Afghan Community in the Bay Area", by Nilufar Kayhani provides a close look into the history of Afghanistan, the migration history of Aghan people in the U.S., and the rich cultural influence they have had in the Bay Area. This policy brief characterizes Afghan people for their resilience and culture - Afghans have resettled globally and have continued their lives - beyond the tragedies they have endured.

Building Resilience: Strengthening Social Services for Latinx Immigrant Families following a Deportation Related Family Separation

“We tried to bring him to the medical clinic, but people told us Immigration [ICE] was there. We didn’t know if it was a rumor or not. I was scared to bring him there.”

BIMI's new policy brief, "Building Resilience: Strengthening Social Services for Latinx Immigrant Families following a Deportation Related Family Separation", explains Lovato & Abrams newest body of research that seeks to understand the most effective approaches for supporting Latinx immigrant families during times of heightened instability and uncertainty, particularly following the deportation of a parent—the brief list the number of negative impacts on children's well-being and where they could seek support. BIMI urges policymakers and practitioners to consider other policies to  promote the welfare and adjustment of immigrant communities across America.

Addressing California Farmworkers’ Mental Health & Food Security During the Pandemic

How did economic instability and additional pandemic factors affect farmworkers' mental health? Read BIMI's new policy brief "Addressing California Farmworkers’Mental Health & Food Security During the Pandemic" by Graciela Chong. This policy brief discusses the article “Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on California Farmworkers’ Mental Health and Food Security’’ by Ana Mora, Joseph Lewnard, and co-authors. Farmworkers in Monterrey County reported struggling with their mental health and food insecurity but were afraid of seeking help due to many being undocumented. This brief also shares what can be done to provide more resources and safety to farmworkers moving forward. 

How Non-Judgemental Engagement Could Reduce Prejudice

Does the type of non-judgemental conversation matter? Nicholas A.R. Fraser goes further in depth on how non-judgemental engagement could reduce prejudice. Read the original research article here.

Yellow Peril and COVID-19, Historically and Politically Contextualizing Anti- Asian Racism

Read BIMI's new policybrief by Dewi Zarni. This PolicyBrief examines BIMI-affiliate, and Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies, Dr. Lok Siu, and UC Berkeley Ph.D. student Claire Chun, 2020 article, “Yellow Peril and Techno-orientalism in the Time of COVID-19: Racialized Contagion, Scientific Espionage, and Techno-Economic Warfare.” In addition to the pandemic, the authors argue that the escalating U.S.-China trade war, and the issue of cyber security, have also contributed to the rise in anti-Asian violence. In order to better understand today's climate, Siu and Chun trace the origins of the “Yellow Peril” ideology and its role in driving Sinophobic. 

Addressing Migrant Farmworker Injury in the United States

The agricultural food industry is upheld by the very vulnerable and underpaid work of farm workers. With this comes far too many injuries that have become a normalized experience for these farm workers. This policy brief by Graciela Chong highlights Dr. Seth Holmes's article on the need for visibility in farmwork injuries within statistics and society to create meaningful change in the agricultural fields. Farm industries should allow flexibility and variety in the type of work farmworkers can perform on duty to limit the continuous, repetitive nature of their work.

Balancing Open Science and Ethics in Migration Research

The movement for open science aims to promote transparent and ethical research, but its practices can have negative implications for migration scholars and their subjects. In their recent article, “Precarious Times, Professional Tensions: The Ethics of Migration Research and the Drive for Scientific Accountability,” Professors Irene Bloemraad and Cecilia Menjívar discuss the danger of transparency when working with vulnerable populations. This brief summarizes and contextualizes their argument and its particular relevance given the ongoing expansion of immigration enforcement technology and surveillance.

Conservative Jurisprudence and Noncitizens’ Political Voice

A new presidential administration has moved into the White House, but the legacies of the previous administration continue through the court system. Over a quarter of active federal judges today were appointed during the Trump administration. What does this mean for immigrants' rights? Scholarship by BIMI-affiliated Professor of Law and Political Science Sarah Song crafts a convincing normative argument as to why our country should expand immigrants' civil and political rights. This BIMI Policy Brief explores a legal argument that may appeal to conservative judges by applying Dr. Song's theory to pressing Constitutional questions. Read Dr. Song's article here.

Responding to COVID-19: Immigrants Face Major Barriers to Accessing Essential Services in the SF Bay Area

COVID-19 disproportionately impacts foreign-born communities due to the overlapping issues of poverty, lack of access to healthcare, and legal vulnerabilities among immigrants. Where can immigrants turn to for help during an emergency like the pandemic? What barriers do they face in accessing necessary services? This brief summarizes key issues around immigrant service provision in the San Francisco Bay Area in the context of an emergency such as COVID-19 or wildfires, from economic aid to food assistance. It shines a light on the structural inequities that immigrants face, especially those who are low-income. In particular, the brief highlights best practices to tackle seven key challenges: barriers to accessible healthcare, employment and housing vulnerabilities, obstacles to obtaining economic assistance, fear over using public benefits (even when eligible), going hungry, language barriers, and the digital divide.

Between Home and Homeland: Redefining Cambodian American Identity Through Transnational Youth Activism

California is home to approximately one-third of the Cambodian American population, many of whom came to the United States as refugees. In a chapter from her book, Southeast Asian Migration: People on the Move in Search of Work, Refuge and Belonging, BIMI-affiliate and Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies Khatharya Um, explores how Cambodian American youth participate in artistic expression and political engagement to navigate the burdens of transgenerational trauma and forced migration. Drawing on Prof. Um’s research, this policy brief makes recommendations for activists, educators, policymakers, and service providers to support the empowerment of young Cambodian Americans and other refugee communities. 

Essential Workers or Exports: Filipino Nurses in the Era of COVID-19

As countries around the globe grapple with COVID-19, they are presented with policy decisions regarding the movement of migrant healthcare workers into and out of their borders. In her recent essay, "Why are there so many Filipino nurses in California?", historian and BIMI-affiliate Prof. Catherine Ceniza Choy describes the historical precedent and contemporary impact of one particular group of migrant healthcare workers: Filipino nurses in California. This policy brief describes Dr. Choy's research and contextualizes her findings in the present moment, in light of policy responses to COVID-19 that threaten the mobility of Filipino nurses and other healthcare workers.

Gaps in Legal Services for Immigrants in the Central Valley

This Data Brief breaks down key findings from BIMI's investigation of spatial mismatch in legal services in the Central Valley. This investigation merges Census data on the region’s immigrant population with a unique database of immigrant legal services. This database is available to the public and researchers through an innovative service-locator app, helping hundreds of thousands of people connect to services. BIMI also aims to make the service landscape more equitable by combining location and service information with targeted demographic data, such as language needs, to shine a light on service gaps for funders, policymakers and service providers.

Gaps in Legal Services for Immigrants in the Bay Area

This Data Brief breaks down key findings from BIMI's investigation of spatial mismatch in legal services. This investigation merges Census data on the region’s immigrant population with a unique database of immigrant legal services. This database is available to the public and researchers through an innovative service-locator app, helping hundreds of thousands of people connect to services. BIMI also aims to make the service landscape more equitable by combining location and service information with targeted demographic data, such as language needs, to shine a light on service gaps for funders, policymakers and service providers.

Changing Partisan Opinions on Immigration

The debate on immigration in the U.S. has become a highly partisan one, with little room for compromise between competing visions of America's national identity and immigration policy. In light of such deep divisions, the prospects for bipartisan immigration reform look bleak. So what does it take to change people's opinions on immigration policy? Political scientist and BIMI-affiliate Dr. Cecilia H. Mo and co-author Dr. Tabitha Bonilla tackle this question in an experimental study that offers promising findings for the future of bipartisan immigration reform. This policy brief relays their findings and how the persuasive tactic of "frame-bridging" is being applied today. Read Dr. Bonilla and Dr. Mo's original research article here. 

Sentiments Towards Migrants Visualized

How are images used to reveal different perceptions of migrant deservingness and undeservingness? Through an analysis of a California traffic sign and its multiple adaptations, Berkeley law professor Leti Volpp discusses how migrant categories have been constructed. Through this Research Brief, we explore Dr. Volpp's work on the representations of migrants and what these perceptions mean for our understanding of rights and membership. Read the original research article here.

Welcoming Communities? Immigrant Access to Services in the Bay Area's Mid-Sized Cities

How well are mid-sized cities in the Bay area serving their immigrant-origin residents? What are the barriers that immigrants face in accessing services? This report examines 12 Bay Area cities. The research draws on Census Bureau data, interviews with community stakeholders, and data from the Berkeley Interdisciplinary Migration Initiative’s Mapping Spatial Inequality interactive map. We identify and examine three key obstacles to accessing services faced by immigrants, a confluence of geographic distance, language barriers, and lack of trust leaves many immigrants unable to access essential services, especially outside of the region’s biggest cities. The report provides recommendations to improve access to immigrant services.

Attempts to Cancel DACA Produce Negative Affects on Health

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) has granted 800,000 young undocumented immigrants work authorization and protection from deportation, but its impact extends to their overall health and well-being. A recent study by Marie Mallet (Sorbonne) and Lisa García Bedolla (UC Berkeley) demonstrates that the Trump administration's announcement to repeal DACA has had negative health outcomes on DACA recipients. They find that "transitory legality," going in and out of a protected status, can have detrimental mental and psychological health effects. Read the original research article here.

Immigrants Lack Access to Legal Representation

Public Interest Law Organizations (PILOs) have been a major driver of social change and legal reform in the United States in the last century. However, research by University of California-Berkeley Professor of Law and Sociology Catherine Albiston shows that PILOs are not accessible to all those who may need their services, including immigrants and residents of poor counties. This policy brief recommends that the Legal Services Corporation be reformed and that large, privately-funded PILOs partner with PILOs in rural areas to expand affordable legal services to new communities. Read the original research article here.

Mapping Spatial Inequality: The New Geography of Poverty and Immigration

There is a new geography of poverty and immigration, with more immigrants and poor people living in the suburbs. Els de Graauw, Shannon Gleeson and Irene Bloemraad show that local officials haven't caught up to this new reality and that there is a spatial mismatch between the neighborhoods where immigrants live and the location of community-based organizations that serve low-income and immigrant populations. BIMI is building the 'Mapping Spatial Inequality' web app. This interactive app enables users to visualize the service mismatch across place, time and types of needs. Read the original research article here.

Rumors and Refugees: How Government-Created Information Vacuums Undermine Effective Crisis Management

How can governments prevent refugees from relying on smugglers and what can we learn from the Greek refugee crisis? Carlson, Jakli and Linos show how governments may prevent information vacuums and contribute to effective crisis management. Read about the policy takeaways of their study and why these findings are relevant for the case of Trump's proposed Muslim travel ban. Read the original research article here.