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“It Happened When I Was Connecting to the Community…”: Multiple Pathways to Migrant (Non)Belonging in a New Destination Setting

Author

Listed:
  • Claudia Soto Saavedra

    (Departments of Sociology and Social Work, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA)

  • Jane Lilly Lopez

    (Departments of Sociology and Social Work, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA)

  • Stacey A. Shaw

    (Departments of Sociology and Social Work, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA)

  • Benjamin G. Gibbs

    (Departments of Sociology and Social Work, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA)

Abstract

Migrants’ sense of belonging in their country and community of residence has direct effects on their health and wellbeing. A diverse set of case studies suggest that legal immigration status plays a primary role in shaping migrants’ opportunities for and experiences of belonging. Few of these studies, though, have examined belonging for migrants with varied legal immigration statuses living in the same receiving context, limiting our understanding of if and how migrant status interacts with other factors to shape access to belonging for migrants settling in the same host community. To address this gap, we analyze 73 semi-structured interviews with migrants in Utah, USA, to investigate the process and experience of belonging for migrants across permanent, temporary, undocumented, and refugee statuses. While legal immigration status is an important factor shaping (non)belonging, it does not appear to function as a master status for migrant belonging. Rather, we find that legal immigration status works alongside a number of community-level factors—including cultural, social, linguistic, and racial/ethnic factors—to shape belonging for migrants of all immigration statuses. These non-legal, community-level factors emerged as critical features of (non)belonging for many migrants living in Utah. Our findings suggest that, although they cannot change federal immigration policies, local- and state-level governments and organizations can enhance migrants’ access to belonging and wellbeing across many other dimensions.

Suggested Citation

  • Claudia Soto Saavedra & Jane Lilly Lopez & Stacey A. Shaw & Benjamin G. Gibbs, 2023. "“It Happened When I Was Connecting to the Community…”: Multiple Pathways to Migrant (Non)Belonging in a New Destination Setting," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-21, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:3:p:2172-:d:1046435
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Karin Amit & Shirly Bar-Lev, 2015. "Immigrants’ Sense of Belonging to the Host Country: The Role of Life Satisfaction, Language Proficiency, and Religious Motives," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 124(3), pages 947-961, December.
    2. Stacey A. Shaw & Graeme Rodgers & Patrick Poulin & Olive Minor & Ashley Allen, 2021. "Safety Among Newly Resettled Refugees in the USA," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 1045-1062, September.
    3. Matthew Hall & Emily Greenman, 2015. "The Occupational Cost of Being Illegal in the United States: Legal Status, Job Hazards, and Compensating Differentials," International Migration Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(2), pages 406-442, June.
    4. Patricia Ehrkamp & Helga Leitner, 2006. "Rethinking Immigration and Citizenship: New Spaces of Migrant Transnationalism and Belonging," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 38(9), pages 1591-1597, September.
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