Programs and Communities

Agricultural and dairy work is among the most dangerous work in the US. In addition to the dangers of work, undocumented migrant workers may face additional stress as a result of the increase in antiimmigration enforcement and criminalization of undocumented status. The purpose of the study was to better understand how migrant dairy workers were impacted by the increase in restrictive immigration policies and immigration enforcement, as well as how they coped with any issues they faced. Interviews were conducted with fourteen migrant dairy workers following the passage of several anti-immigration bills across the US. Findings revealed four major categories; three were related to negative impacts of immigration policies and enforcement:

1. Fear.
2. Stress and anxiety.
3. Perceptions of discrimination.

An additional major category emerged that demonstrated the hope and resilience of participants in the face of an increasingly difficult socio-political environment. Implications for social service practice, policy, and research are discussed.

The purpose of this paper was to examine the impact of perceived discrimination among Latino immigrants in the context of recent immigration policies and immigration enforcement strategies. Data for this study were drawn from a pilot study (n=213) of adult Latino immigrants living in Arizona during the summer of 2014. The results of multivariate OLS linear regressions indicated greater perceived discrimination was significantly related to reporting:

1. Avoidance of immigration officials.
2. Family has suffered.
3. Friends have suffered.

In addition, greater perceived discrimination was significantly related to lower confidence in a better future for the individual, their families, their children, and the children of today.

Latinas may be unlikely to report violent crime, particularly when undocumented. This research examines the impact of fear of deportation and trust in the procedural fairness of the justice system on willingness to report violent crime victimization among a sample of Latinas (N = 1,049) in the United States. Fear of deportation was a significant predictor of Latinas perceptions of the procedural fairness of the criminal justice system. However, trust in the police is more important than fear of deportation in Latinas’ willingness to report violent crime victimization. Social workers can provide rights-based education and encourage relationship building between police and Latino communities.

This study examined the relationship between the fear of deportation and perceptions of law enforcement, the criminal justice system, and the willingness to report crimes among Latinos in the US. Understanding the relationship between increased immigration enforcement and fear of deportation may promote public safety by improving the relationship between the police and Latino communities.

Multivariate ordinal logistic regression analyses of the data found that participants who had a greater fear of deportation reported:

1. Less confidence that police would not use excessive force (p<.01).
2. Less confidence that police would treat Latinos fairly (p<.05).
3. A lower likelihood of reporting crimes (p<.05).
4. Less confidence that the courts would treat Latinos fairly (p<.01).

This report examines how recent immigration policies and immigration enforcement strategies have impacted Latino immigrants in Arizona. Analyses examined the relationship between fear of deportation and the impact of immigration policies on various aspects of daily life of Latino immigrants as a result of US immigration policies. Results indicate that participants who reported a greater fear of deportation were also significantly more likely to report:

1. Trouble keeping a job.
2. Trouble finding a job.
3. Having been asked for immigration documents.
4. That friends have suffered.
5. That their family has suffered.
6. Lower confidence that police will treat Latino immigrants fairly.
7. Lower confidence that the courts will treat Latino immigrants fairly.
8. Lower confidence that they will have a better future.

Implications for social work practice, advocacy, and research are discussed.