Immigrant-Sensitive Services Promoting Wellness in Anti-immigrant Times: Recommendations from Community-Based Research and Practice Partnerships

Latino immigrants are more likely to live in families with mixed documentation status, greatly impacting access to health resources (Orozco et al, 2012; Capp et al, 2006) in contexts of social and economic barriers, failed immigration policies, and increased detentions/deportations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement within Homeland Security. This paper offers culturally, developmentally and sociopolitically informed ecosystemic understandings of Wellness as rooted in social justice, (Prilleltensky, 2012; Shapiro and Atallah-Gutierrez, 2012) applying this approach to immigrant-sensitive health promotion through community-based research/practice partnerships conducted within the Mauricio Gaston Institute, a Latino Research Center partnering with Community-Based Organizations (CBO's) and Latino and immigrant service providers. Following New Bedford massive work-place raids (2007), CBO's gathered to develop local and state-wide responses. We partnered with a local CBO engaged in immigrant education on legal and human rights toward creating a humanitarian crisis response plan, and with MA Department of Child and Family Services (Padilla et al, 2008), using participatory research to develop immigrant-sensitive practice recommendations. Three qualitative studies explored how Latino/a youth, adults, and mothers respond to intensified enforcement, finding that trusted Community-Based Organizations and informed providers make the difference between individuals living in isolation and fear and communities living with hope and solidarity in striving toward wellness. This research identified both greater life-course specific vulnerabilities and impressive, creative marshalling of inner strengths and collective resources among immigrants responding to anti-immigrant times across settings. We report on recommendations for enhancing immigrant-sensitive practices and policies supporting personal, family and community development and wellness.