Immigrant Stories

People immigrate and migrate for many reasons, and their legal status affects their experience. People fleeing from violence or persecution may seek “refugee” status prior to obtaining a visa, or they may seek “asylum” status after crossing a border. People’s relationship with official legal documentation can change depending upon the terms and conditions of their visas or points of entry as well as changing laws and executive orders. For that reason, the “Immigrant Stories” panel in Service, Citizenship, and Civil Rights attempts to include people with a variety of legal statuses and experiences of immigration and military service. 

For more background, please see:

HIAS. “Once Refugees, Now Veterans.” Accessed May 6, 2022. https://www.hias.org/once-refugees-now-veterans.

Ngai, Mae M. Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America. Updated  edition with a New Foreword edition. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2014.

Sanneh, Kelefa. “Untangling the Immigration Debate.” The New Yorker, October 24, 2016. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/10/31/untangling-the-immigration-debate.