Immigrant and Refugee Families Chapter 11 PDF

Immigrant and Refugee Families Chapter 11 by Usha George Immigrant and Refugee Families Canada’s immigration policies Different categories and pathways to settlement Within an ethnically and racially diverse immigrant population, the common challenges and conflicts How the process of mi...

Immigrant and Refugee Families Chapter 11 by Usha George Immigrant and Refugee Families Canada’s immigration policies Different categories and pathways to settlement Within an ethnically and racially diverse immigrant population, the common challenges and conflicts How the process of migration affects family relationships The role of schools and other institutions in immigrant and refugee family settlement Conceptual frameworks Immigrant and Refugee Families Canada’s immigration policy: Gov’t policies create both opportunities and difficulties for immigrant families in terms of their abilities to live and form families Why do we need immigrants? History of ‘taps on, taps off’ in selection and number Today most newcomers arrive as families and on a points system Categories = family class, (family reunification) refugee class, asylum seekers, independent class, live-in caregiver program, migrant, temporary foreigner worker program, undocumented migrant workers Multiculturalism Immigrant and Refugee Families Demographic profile of immigrants and refugees to Canada: As of 2023, there were more than eight million immigrants with permanent residence living in Canada - roughly 20 percent of the total Canadian population. As of 2023, refugees make up 17% of the population As of 2023, 23% of Canada’s families were categorized as immigrant Canada’ has one of the highest concentrations of immigrants among its population Until last week, Canada welcomed 500,000 newcomers a year since Liberal gov’t first mandate Debate today about numbers and ‘whether we need more immigrants or robots for the formal economy’ Countries of origin = India, China, Philippines, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Iran, Pakistan, France Super-diversification of Canadian metropolises which mean that these cities are shaped by immigration Immigrant and Refugee Families Immigrant pathways to settlement and the conceptual frameworks used to study them: The family is central to understanding processes of settlement and belonging for newcomers Newcomer families can be resources or constraints How to make sense of the nature and complexities associated with adjusting to a new country- 1. Acculturation lens 4 acculturation strategies – assimilation, integration, separation, marginalization Learning the elements of a host’s culture and society Ecological framework is needed to explore the multidimensional elements involved in acculturation – micro (family), mezzo (peers, schools, communities) and macro levels (broader sociocultural environment, immigration class, attitudes of host society towards newcomers and gov’t supports) Immigrant and Refugee Families 2. Adaptation – successful outcome of the acculturation strategies and the host culture’s policies and practices Strategies can be collectivist or individualistic Generational consonance or dissonance Acculturational gap-distress model – different rates of acculturation among family members What are some acculturation stresses between family members? Intergenerational conflicts Immigrant and Refugee Families 3. Integration- Within the framework of multiculturalism we want newcomers to adapt to life in Canada at the same time as we welcome and adapt to newcomers 4 key areas of integration – employment, housing, education and health Foundation for integration within these areas = rights and citizenship 4. Intersectionality- To make sense of the differences in acculturation and integration among newcomers Interlocking systems of domination within a broader context of colonialism, patriarchy, racism and capitalism To understand marginalization and oppression Intersectionality lens allows us to explore the gendered nature of integration and acculturation Immigrant and Refugee Families 5. Transnationalism- The emergence of transnational communities where transmigrants continue their everyday activities, relationships, networks, and identities with their home countries while simultaneously maintaining meaningful engagements in their places of settlement Transnational families refer to ties between places of origin and settlement in host countries De-territorialization of family life or bifocality of outlook Different strategies for maintaining family arrangements and ties, and caring responsibilities across the space and time Astronaut families, parachute kids, satellite babies The gendered nature of transnational family strategies Remittances play a key role in maintaining family ties across the globe  Immigrant and Refugee Families The many experiences of newcomer families migration and settlement experiences 1. Pre-migration Experiences of refugee families and settlement experiences of newcomers’ to Canada: What are some of the different pathways for migration for refugees and immigrant families? Immigrant and refugee settlement in Canada – the long and sometimes never complete period of mutual adaptation between newcomers and the host society Developing a sense of belonging Entry status, human and social capital, supports determine the nature of the challenges faced by newcomers Roxham Road – since 2017 more than 100,000 asylum seekers Immigrant and Refugee Families Challenges – employment and affordable housing, lack of, and consistency in, settlement services, discrimination 2. Acculturation and intra-familial relationships in the new context: Ambiguous loss theory to explain sense of loss and confusion Changes in parenting styles: tolerance of freedom and independence, different time management, modification in discipline, role reversals Refugees, asylum seekers and undocumented migrants experience hardship and loss while living transnationality and building resilience for strength Changing gender roles in responding to settlement challenges Why do women respond better? Immigrant and Refugee Families Parent-Adolescent Relationships – What is the #1 source of conflict between young immigrants and their parents? Senior immigrants face what kind of challenges? 3. Family conflict, domestic violence and family breakdown: Child maltreatment, intimate partner violence and elder abuse are legal concerns if reported What happens when neglect and abuse go unreported? Immigrant and Refugee families’ interactions with the school system: How do immigrant parents get involved with their children’s schools – cultural survivors, cultural learners, cultural connectors and cultural leaders Immigrant and Refugee Families Conclusion: Canada need immigrants, we are color-coded mosaic but its vertical Canada is okay welcoming newcomers but is not doing a good job in integrating, acculturating them, nor giving them the proper tools to develop a sense of belonging The newcomers want to stay so how can Canada do better: Micro Mezzo macro