Embodying the Border: Structural Barriers to Health for Immigrant and Refugee Women in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

The health status of (undocumented) immigrant and refugee women is shaped by social, economic, and political forces that vary across space, depending on changes in federal, state, local, and institutional policies. Researchers have documented how contact with local or federal law enforcement and fear of such contact, as created by xenophobic political and legal climates, create further barriers to care and services for immigrant, refugee, and mixed-status families. In locations far from the border, migration policing and fear of deportation are elements of the structural vulnerability that (undocumented) immigrant and refugee women face. This project uses the concept of structural vulnerability, which argues inequality from systemic political, economical and material marginalization contributes to oppression through gender, ethnic, and class-based discrimination, in order to understand the specific gendered dimensions of structural vulnerability for immigrant and refugee women in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. The objectives of this study are to learn from organizations and agencies that serve immigrant and refugee women about: 1) their perspectives on how the current political and policy climate and policing practices are shaping access to services and care for their clients and constituents; and 2) their perspectives on how such barriers might be dismantled. The research will rely on semi-structured interviews with immigrant and refugee service providers and organizations in Milwaukee, WI. The interviews will be recorded, de-identified, transcribed, and analyzed. Findings from this research are significant because they will provide a better understanding of current conditions for immigrant and refugee women in Milwaukee County that can be used to inform policy advocacy on the local, state, and national levels in support of the health and well-being of these populations