Organizations working with Latina immigrants : resources and strategies for change.

Details

• Creators:
  Hess, Cynthia ; Henrici, Jane ; Williams, Claudia
• Corporate Creators:
  Institute for Women's Policy Research
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Costs
  • Gender
  • Females
  • Trip length
  • Low income groups
  • Driver licenses
  • Light rail transit
  • Public transit
  • Urban transit
• Resource Type:
  Research Paper
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Corporate Publisher:
  Institute for Women's Policy Research
• NTL Classification:
  NTL-PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION-Rail Transit ; NTL-RAIL TRANSPORTATION-Rail Safety
• Abstract:
  Over the last several decades, the immigrant population in the United States has experienced ; rapid growth, particularly among new immigrants from Latin America. This increase ; in migration has significantly altered the social and economic landscape of many local communities ; and the nation as a whole, leading to controversy and debate. ; Within this context of tension and ambivalence, many organizations strive to address immigrants’ ; needs and to transform the social and political context that hinders immigrants’ ; integration into communities and society. Nonprofit organizations and religious congregations, ; in particular, play an active role in this process. National religious organizations representing ; a range of traditions have issued public statements urging policymakers to create ; an immigration system that welcomes immigrants and respects their rights and dignity. In ; addition, many nonprofit organizations and congregations are working closely with immigrants, ; providing services and in some cases advocating for immigrant rights. ; Despite the important role that nonprofit organizations and congregations play in advancing ; immigrants’ rights and well-being, few studies have examined the full variety of resources these ; groups offer immigrants. To help fill this gap, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) ; conducted a two-year study that explored how nonprofits and congregations work with Latin ; American immigrants—the largest and most rapidly growing segment of the immigrant population ; in the United States—and especially with low-income immigrant women, whose interests ; and concerns are often marginalized in public policy debates and discussions. ; IWPR’s study explored the challenges many Latina immigrants face and the ways that ; nonprofit organizations and congregations strive to address them in three areas with rapidly ; growing immigrant populations: Atlanta, Georgia; Phoenix, Arizona; and Northern Virginia, a ; region within the Washington, District of Columbia (DC), metropolitan area. The study examined ; several sets of questions: ; ❚ What challenges do nonprofit organizations and congregations see Latina immigrants facing ; in the three areas of study? What resources—including programs, services, and advocacy— ; do organizations offer to respond to these challenges? ; ❚ How can public policies help or hinder the development of strategies, programs, and other ; forms of support that best serve Latina immigrants? How might these policies help to create ; either welcoming or exclusionary communities? ; ❚ What is the nature and scope of collaborative action among organizations that assist Latina ; immigrants and families? To what extent do groups in the study work with each other, and ; around what kinds of issues and concerns have they formed partnerships? What obstacles ; prevent the creation of effective collaborations? ; ❚ What changes in public policies, advocacy, and service provision would benefit Latina immigrants ; in Atlanta, Phoenix, and Northern Virginia? ; IWPR researchers explored these questions by interviewing nearly 300 organizations in ; the research sites. A total of 460 interviews with these organizations, including 398 phone ; and 62 in-person interviews, were conducted in 2009–2010. To contextualize and supplement ; information gathered from the interviews, IWPR analyzed the social and economic circumstances ; of Latino/a immigrants using data from the 2000 U.S. Census and the 2008 American ; Community Survey. ; The study finds that: ; ❚ Organizations working with Latina immigrants perceive that these women make valuable ; contributions to their communities. At the same time, organizational leaders report that Latina ; immigrants often face a range of challenges, including violence, poverty, limited English ; proficiency, poor working conditions, and inadequate access to transportation, health care, ; and affordable child care. ; ❚ Nonprofit organizations and congregations offer services and programs to help address these ; issues, although many of the groups are relatively small and struggle to meet the current needs. ; ❚ Congregations often assist immigrants on a largely informal basis. Though informal, this ; assistance constitutes a substantial portion of available resources. ; ❚ Although many groups advocate for immigrant rights at the local, state, or national levels, very ; few advocate specifically for the rights of immigrant women. Developing a stronger advocacy ; movement that focuses on immigrant women’s concerns is essential to creating programs, ; services, and policies that improve the circumstances of immigrant women and their families. ; ❚ Although some congregations do not welcome immigrants, others struggle to form “communities ; of transformation” that incorporate new immigrants and facilitate cross-cultural ; relationships and understanding. These groups can provide an important resource for both ; immigrant and native-born members. ; ❚ Municipal, county, and state policies related to immigration have a profound effect on the ; ability nonprofit organizations and congregations to assist immigrant women and their families. ; These groups perceive a need not only for changes in local and state laws, but also for ; comprehensive immigration reform that would address the issues at the national level. ; ❚ Collaboration is an integral part of how organizations offer services to immigrant women ; and engage in advocacy to shape public policies. Yet many nonprofits and congregations ; feel they would benefit from efforts to strengthen and expand existing collaborations. ; The report outlines these findings, focusing on the work of nonprofit organizations and ; congregations that assist low-income Latina immigrants. In exploring this work, the report examines ; the obstacles these groups face, especially those created by restrictive local and state ; policies. Some jurisdictions in the study have proposed or enacted policies and ordinances ; that target living arrangements common to immigrant families, discourage the presence of ; day laborers, limit the access of immigrants to certain public services, and forbid the use of ; languages other than English on public signs and in workplaces. Combined with intensified ; immigration enforcement in recent years, these policies create a context in which immigrants, ; especially those who are undocumented, are cast as unwanted and placed at risk. ; The rise in anti-immigrant sentiment and proliferation of anti-immigrant policies points to ; the need for organizations to not only offer services that help immigrants, but also to strive ; to transform the social and political climate that contributes to the conditions that threaten ; immigrants’ health, safety, and security. A strong advocacy movement that seeks to change ; local, state, and federal policies is essential to improving the circumstances of immigrant ; workers, families, and communities in the United States. ; Within this advocacy work, the circumstances of immigrant women demands greater attention. ; Because immigrant women are part of families and communities and are often responsible ; for building social networks, the issues that affect them have an effect on others ; as well. Policy changes to assist immigrant women, therefore, are widely beneficial. They are ; also essential to developing a well-functioning immigration system. Any attempt to change ; the current system that does not take into account immigrant women’s circumstances will ; remain incomplete and ineffective. ; Based on the analysis of the circumstances of Latina immigrants in the research sites, ; the organizational resources available to meet immigrant women’s needs, and the context ; in which these organizations must operate, the report concludes with the following recommendations ; for policy and practice.
  More +
• Format:
  PDF
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/20341/dot_20341_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.25 MB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:0387a21f4760b9fe2bd730d832c673fcdffc905d15b54cb9a5356d01e47024087904e3a6d68b1646af208bee575ca68d9f7964e08327ed746b54604c7d0c6121