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‘I don't feel that we are a burden’: Latinx immigrants and deservingness during the COVID-19 pandemic

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  • Duncan, Whitney L.
  • Nabor Vazquez, Lupita

Abstract

In this paper, we explore the material and symbolic effects of “deservingness projects” (Kline, 2019) for Latinx immigrants as they have played out over the COVID-19 pandemic. On a material level, exclusionary policies have exacerbated Latinx immigrants' disenfranchisement and contributed to disproportionate sickness and economic strife during the pandemic. On a symbolic level, they have contributed to subjective experiences of fear, distress, and desperation, and have eroded many immigrants' trust in institutions and support systems. Crucially, though, the pandemic's injustices have also crystallized a sense of outrage and indignation among some Latinx immigrants, provoking assertions of self-worth and sociopolitical projects of belonging and mutual care. Our findings thus challenge the notion that subjective self-understandings as ‘undeserving’ are fundamental to the undocumented experience and show that the pandemic's fallout has strengthened some immigrants' ability and willingness to “make claims for inclusion” (Abrego, 2011) and sociopolitical change.

Suggested Citation

  • Duncan, Whitney L. & Nabor Vazquez, Lupita, 2023. "‘I don't feel that we are a burden’: Latinx immigrants and deservingness during the COVID-19 pandemic," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 333(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:333:y:2023:i:c:s0277953623004823
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116125
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    1. Eva Clark & Karla Fredricks & Laila Woc-Colburn & Maria Elena Bottazzi & Jill Weatherhead, 2020. "Disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on immigrant communities in the United States," PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(7), pages 1-9, July.
    2. Marrow, Helen B., 2012. "Deserving to a point: Unauthorized immigrants in San Francisco’s universal access healthcare model," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(6), pages 846-854.
    3. Willen, Sarah S., 2012. "How is health-related “deservingness” reckoned? Perspectives from unauthorized im/migrants in Tel Aviv," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(6), pages 812-821.
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