Racist and xenophobic policies in the United States (e.g., family separations and lack of access to protected immigration statuses for undocumented immigrants) have historically excluded immigrants of color from accessing full civil rights, thus contributing to widening racial inequities in the US. Racism and xenophobia intersected with other systems of oppression during the COVID-19 pandemic, exposing immigrants of color to detrimental health effects. Research shows that activism helps immigrants of color cope with systemic stressors and protect their psychological well-being. In this manuscript, we introduce the antiracist activism for immigrant rights (AAIR) framework to clarify how activism in response to systemic stress may promote healthy coping. This framework was developed together by scholars and immigration activists in the US Critical and liberatory theory and research on empowerment and healing also informed AAIR. Using structural equation modeling, we tested the framework in a community sample of 204 immigrants of color. Results support the model, depicting antiracist immigration activism as a latent construct manifested as a combination of engagement in racial justice, immigrant rights, and electoral activism. Further, results support the link between antiracist immigration activism and healthy coping in response to stress from immigration and health. We provide recommendations for behavioral health professionals to promote antiracist immigration activism and healthy coping among immigrant communities.

AbstractA framework termed “the citizenship shield” is introduced to conceptualize how legal protections buffer against negative health outcomes among Latinx immigrants in the United States. In this study, we tested the citizenship shield framework in the context of the disproportionate impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on Latinx immigrants. We investigated the connection between immigration status, discrimination, food insecurity, and negative health outcomes. Analyses involved testing mediation and moderation models among a community‐based sample of 536 Latinx immigrants holding five statuses (i.e., U.S. citizenship, permanent residency, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, undocumented, and temporary status). Results suggested that food insecurity mediated the link between discrimination and negative impacts from the pandemic for Latinx immigrants across all statuses. Follow up analyses suggested that two of the three paths were moderated by immigration status. This research provides novel, important data to inform health interventions and federal policy targeted for the most vulnerable immigrants in the United States.

This study reports on the experiences of immigrants in a culturally responsive community entrepreneurship program named Poder. Immigrants make up a sizable proportion of the workforce and contribute to the US economy by creating jobs through entrepreneurship endeavors. However, research about culturally responsive programs for the immigrant community to assist in exploring entrepreneurship opportunities is lacking. The consensual qualitative research (CQR) method was implemented to analyze the interviews of 11 immigrant students, who participated in the 5-week program at a community college. Analyses revealed that students engaged in critical consciousness regarding barriers to entrepreneurship, educational values and barriers, achievement values, and the unique experience of immigrant entrepreneurs. Students addressed cultural advantages to reduce barriers during the program by engaging supports, family, technology, and community as resources. These strategies may be helpful to scholars, educators, and practitioners seeking to support immigrants in pursuing community entrepreneurship as educational and career pathways.

Immigrants represent a numerous, and substantially underserved, community of over 44 million people in the U.S., including 700,000 recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program (Batalova et al., 2020). Opportunities for competency training in professional psychology to serve this community, however, are scarce, both within doctoral training programs and professional development contexts (American Psychological Association [APA], 2012; Benuto et al., 2018). This article reports the results of a study assessing the impact of a 3-part web-based training series that targeted several Foundational and Functional Competency Domains as outlined by Fouad et al. (2009 t Pretest assessments of 1,327 participants revealed limitations in the domains of knowledge and awareness of cultural competencies for working with immigrants. Those who completed the posttest assessments following each of the three Webinars showed significant increases in competency domains based on paired-sample t-tests. Repeated measures mixed-design analyses of variance tested the moderating effects of demographic characteristics (i.e., race, ethnicity, gender), level of training, career stage, or prior experience working with immigrants on these increases in cultural competence. Results provide valuable information regarding targeted subgroups within the larger sample. Subsequent follow-up assessments on a narrower number of participants supported the continuing impact of the trainings over time. Results are discussed in relation to the critical role of evidence-based training that targets immigrant populations in the midst of global sociopolitical and immigration challenges, and how these may inform competency training in a graduate program and professional development contexts.

Although new HIV infections have remained stable or decreased for most U.S. groups at risk for HIV, incidence among Latinx increased by 6% and among Latinx individuals, immigrants are disproportionately infected. One driver of these infections is low rates of HIV testing. While research shows the chilling effect that restrictive immigration laws can have on immigrants' health care utilization, few studies have examined the influence of perceived immigration context and healthcare utilization immigration law concerns on following a public health recommendation such as HIV testing. The purpose of the study is to test an exploratory model of immigration-related variables and their impact on U.S. Latinx immigrants' yearly HIV testing. U.S.-Latinx immigrants (N=169) completed a cross-sectional survey assessing perceived enforcement of immigration laws, perceptions of law enforcement attitudes towards Latinx and immigrants, fear of deportation, concerns with the consequences of immigration laws for health care utilization, and yearly HIV testing. Path analysis findings indicated that perceived enforcement of immigration laws was related to perceived negative attitudes from law enforcement towards Latinx and immigrants which was associated with fear of deportation. Fear of deportation was associated with concerns with the implications of immigration laws for accessing publicly funded healthcare services and these concerns were negatively related to yearly HIV testing and mediated the association between fear of deportation and yearly HIV testing. Findings point to the need of developing and implementing individual- and policy-level interventions to increase HIV testing among Latinx immigrants in a restrictive immigration law environment. Resumen Aunque nuevas infecciones de VIH se han mantenido estable o han disminuido para la mayoría de los grupos en los Estados Unidos (E.U.) en alto riesgo de contraer VIH, la incidencia de VIH entre Latinx ha aumentado 6% y entre individuos Latinx, los inmigrantes están desproporcionalmente afectados por la epidemia. Uno de los factores que contribuye a la alta tasa de VIH es la baja tasa de pruebas de VIH entre inmigrantes. Aunque la investigación confirma los efectos escalofriantes que las leyes restrictivas de inmigración pueden tener en la utilización de servicios de salud entre los inmigrantes, pocos estudios han examinado la influencia de la percepción del contexto de inmigración y las preocupaciones sobre las implicaciones de las leyes de inmigración si se utilizan servicios de salud públicos en seguir la recomendación de salud pública de hacerse la prueba de VIH regularmente. El propósito del estudio es someter a la prueba un modelo exploratorio de la influencia de variables relacionadas a la inmigración y su impacto en las pruebas anuales de HIV en los inmigrantes Latinx que viven en los E.U. (N=169). Los participantes contestaron un cuestionario transversal que midió la percepción del enforzamiento de las leyes de inmigración, la percepción de las actitudes de los agentes que enforzan las leyes de inmigración hacia Latinx y inmigrantes, el miedo a la deportación, las preocupaciones especificas sobre las consecuencias de las leyes de inmigración para la utilización de servicios de salud, la percepción de la sociedad sobre el estigma de VIH, y si los inmigrantes se hacen la prueba de VIH anualmente. Los resultados de los análisis de trayectoria indicaron que el enforzamiento de las leyes de inmigración esta relacionada con la percepción de que los agentes policiacos que enforzan las leyes tienen actitudes negativas hacia Latinx y inmigrantes lo cual esta asociado con el miedo a la deportación. El miedo a la deportación esta asociado a las preocupaciones sobre las implicaciones de las leyes de inmigración para la utilización de los servicios de salud patrocinados por el gobierno federal y estas preocupaciones fueron negativamente relacionadas con las pruebas anuales de VIH y mediaron la asociación entre el miedo a la deportación y las pruebas anuales de VIH. Los resultados señalan la importancia de desarrollar e implementar intervenciones al nivel individual y al nivel de política para aumentar las pruebas de VIH entre los inmigrantes Latinx en un ambiente de leyes restrictivas de inmigración.