4.5.4: Case Studies 1-3

Case Studies

Though there are substantial barriers to family reunification and well-being, there are also great opportunities. Never before has policy been so inclusive or aimed so intensely on family reunification. The case studies below outline different paths to immigration and family reunification. They demonstrate the opportunities and assistance which are available, as well as the challenges faced.

Case Study 1: Becoming a Citizen

Mr. and Mrs. Addisu, both in their early 70s, immigrated to the United States from Ethiopia nearly 15 years ago with sponsorship from their daughter and her United States-born husband. The couple was eager to learn English and embrace the different cultural values, which meant becoming citizens. They wanted to join the country that their child and grandchildren called home.

After filing the appropriate documentation, paying related fees, and waiting for several years, both Mr. and Mrs. Addisu were scheduled for their naturalization test. The Addisu’s daughter helped them study the material. They particularly hoped that their parents could obtain citizenship so that the Addisus could take a long trip home to see their friends in Ethiopia, which they had not been able to do since moving to the United States with strict residency requirements.

But it quickly became apparent that Mr. Addisu had trouble learning English, which was primarily age-related. With assistance from a local church, Mr. Addisu applied for an English Language Exemption. This enabled him to exempt from the English language requirement and take the civics test in Oromo with the assistance of an interpreter.

Case Study 2: Family Reunification

Matias, a United States citizen, filed a petition to request a green card for his daughter Victoria who still lived in Mexico. Victoria had a 15-year old son and a 14-year daughter, who were listed on the petition as “derivative beneficiaries”, eligible to receive a visa if their mother received one. Their petition was approved, and they waited for their priority date. Victoria and her son and daughter continued living in Mexico, they lived on a low income and in a violent neighborhood. They communicated regularly with Matias, and Victoria repeatedly expressed how excited she was to see her dad again, and to be able to provide a better life for her kids. She regularly checked on her application and the priority date, excited for its arrival.

The priority date arrived 7 years later. Victoria’s children were now 22 and 21, and so they were no longer eligible to be derivative beneficiaries on Victoria’s visa. When Victoria learned, she was distraught. She talked to every advocacy group she could find, but there were no options. There would have been services available to expedite their petition as the children approached adulthood, but she and Matias had been unaware.

Victoria talked with her children about the options; they could all remain together in Mexico, or she could travel to the United States and apply for them to join her. One of her children as now working, and the other was attending a technical school. They decided together that it would be best for Victoria to go on to the United States. Once she arrived and became a lawful permanent resident, she filed a petition for her kids to get a visa. It was approved. Once again, the family waited for their priority date. Now, Victoria was with her father, but separated from her kids. It was now her kids she was calling, saying, “I miss you, I am excited to see you, I hope we can be together soon, soon, soon.” After 8 years, the priority date arrived. Victoria’s children, now ages 29 and 30, joined their mother in the United States.

Discussion Questions for case study 1 and 2

1. Think back on your own family history. If you had family immigrate to the United States, what policies were in place when they arrived?
2. What would motivate a family to immigrate without documentation? What might make them decide against it?
3. What challenges does a child face if their parents do not have documentation?
4. What are the arguments for making family reunification quicker and more accessible? What are the arguments against it?
5. What barriers did the families in the case studies have to reunification? What supports did they receive?

Helpful Links

Migration Policy Institute

• http://www.migrationpolicy.org/
• The Migration Policy Institute is “an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank in Washington, DC dedicated to analysis of the movement of people worldwide”. They have regular publications and press releases about trends in migration, both to the United States and internationally.

Statue of Liberty Oral History

• www.libertyellisfoundation.org/oral-history-library
• The Statue of Liberty – Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. keeps a database of oral histories of immigrants who came through Ellis Island during their migration to America between 1892 to 1954.

 

Case Study 3

“Big trucks remind him of the tanks…they shot his friends.”

Ari was a bright-eyed, precocious child with big brown eyes. At the young age of 5 he was full of creative ideas and imaginative scenarios. “I’m stronger than Superman!” he said with unbending confidence while whizzing around the living room of his family’s first floor apartment.

“He is obsessed with superheroes,” His older brother Amed responded.

Ari climbed on the back of the couch, put his fisted hands on his hips, puffed out his chest and with a steely smile ripped open his buttoned shirt revealing a blue t-shirt with the iconic Superman S emblazoned across the chest. “I AM STRONGER THAN SUPERMAN!” he yelled as he threw one arm in the air and jumped off the couch. He continued to run around the room, making whooshing noises and stopping every few seconds to flex his tiny arm muscles.

“We didn’t have superheroes in Kurdistan,” Amed said. “At least I don’t remember them.”

“How old were you when you left Kurdistan?” I asked.

“I was 7, Ari was 3.”

“And how long have you been in the United States?” I asked.

“A little over a year,” he replied.

At that moment Ari and Amed’s mom entered the room with a large warm disk of flatbread wrapped in towel.

“For you,” she said, handing me the bread.

Ari rushed over to grab a piece but was swatted away by his mother’s hand. She began talking to him in Arabic.

“She is telling him to act like a good boy and to stop running around,” Ahmed translated.

Ahmed was 9. He was tall for his age, slender, and very soft spoken. He and his father were the only two in the house who spoke English fluently. This meant Ahmed was often tasked with translating for the family. Sometimes he appeared to enjoy this. At other times he looked burdened.

I smiled. “Little boys are full of energy,” I said while watching Ari flex his muscles at his mother.

At that moment the loud grumbling sound of the garbage truck came in through the open window. The heavy machine wheeled in front of the house, its hydraulics let out a violent gush of air as it thrust its iron teeth into the large dumpster. The dumpster was effortlessly thrown up in the air, its content dumping into the back of the truck. hen with a whoosh and a gush it was slammed back down to earth with a loud bang.

Ari froze. The rigidness in his body was instantaneous. All super hero powers melted away. His eyes grew large and glazed over. His face contorted into that of horror. He screamed uncontrollably. The gregarious little boy was gone, and in his place the embodiment of terror.

“What is wrong?” I asked.

His mother grabbed him. Ari flailed. She pulled his head into her chest and started singing.

“Big trucks remind him of the tanks,” Ahmed said nonchalantly.

“The tanks? I asked, “What tanks?”

“He was on the playground back home when the tanks came. The soldiers shot his friends.”

Unsure of how to respond, a quiet “oh” slipped from my lips.

“They shot his friends?” I asked.

“Yes, they shot everyone. They didn’t care. They killed children. I saw lots of kids die.” Ahmed spoke with authority but without emotion.

Ari continued screaming for several more minutes as his mother sang and rocked him. The garbage truck finished emptying the dumpsters and drove away. Its loud hum resonating throughout the complex as it left. After it was gone and the usual sounds of the apartment complex returned Ari slowly calmed down.

“Bread. Eat.” His mother smiled and motioned to me and the bread she had handed me minutes before.

“She wants you to eat the bread,” Ahmed said.

“Oh yes. The bread.” I looked down at my hands. “This is the best bread.” I said looking up, half smiling. My eyes moved to Ari. The boy stronger than Superman slowly crept back to life. His eyes unglazed. He yawned, and his mother kissed the top of his head. I pointed to the S on his t-shirt. He looked down at his chest and then instinctively flexed his tiny arm in a show of power before shyly burying his head in his mother’s arm.

 

Discussion Questions for Case Study 3

1. What are some mental health challenges that may arise in this family? How might an educator, social worker, therapist, religious/spiritual leader, employer, etc. support them?
2. What types of treatments might be helpful for this family system?
3. What do you believe are the challenges and opportunities in helping this family successfully resettle in the United Stated?
4. What do you see as the role of United States’ communities in immigrant and refugee resettlement – whose responsibility is it to support these families?

 

Helpful Links 

The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN)

• http://www.nctsn.org/
• NCTSN’s mission is to raise the standard of care and improve access to services for traumatized children, their families and communities throughout the United States. Their website contains information for parents and caregivers, school personnel, and professionals.

The Center for Victims of Torture (CVT)

• http://www.cvt.org/resources#sthash.myQihJ8T.dpuf
• CVT believes in the exchange of knowledge, ideas and creative strategies to heal torture survivors and inspire effective action to end torture worldwide.

Bridging Refugee Youth and Children’s Services (BRYCS)

• http://www.brycs.org
• BRYCS maintains the nation’s largest online collection of resources related to refugee immigrant children and families.

vivo International

• (http://www.vivo.org/en/)
• vivo (victim’s voice) is an alliance of professionals experienced in the fields of psychotraumatology, international health, humanitarian aid, scientific laboratory and field research, sustainable development and human rights advocacy.

 

 

5.5: Conclusion by Jaime Ballard, Elizabeth Wieling, Catherine Solheim, and Lekie Dwanyen is licensed CC BY-NC 4.0. Original source: https://open.lib.umn.edu/immigrantfamilies/.