Immigrants, Welfare Reform, and the Poverty of Policy

by Philip Kretsedemas (Editor), Ana Aparicio (Editor)

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780275978730
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	04/30/2004
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	328
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.75(d)

About the Author

PHILIP KRETSEDEMAS is Director of Communications for the National Immigration Project.

ANA APARICIO is Assistant Professor in the Anthropology Department at the University of Massachusetts, Boston.

Table of 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