Preface

Immigrants, refugees, and their families have been a part of the history of the United States for more than 5 centuries. For many Americans, the arrival of immigrants at Ellis Island is the embodiment of the U.S. immigration experience. Nevertheless, this version is in stark contrast to the experience of African people brought as slaves to America. In the 20th and 21st centuries, millions of people have sought freedom and goals for a better life for themselves and their families. Unaccompanied minors, parents separated from their children at the U.S.-Mexico border, refugees fleeing warfare and other forms of violence and natural disasters, and individuals who arrive with documented status are all part of the immigrant and refugee diaspora of the United States and its territories. From Alaska to Florida, in rural and urban areas, in schools, workplaces, mental health agencies, and other settings, counselors are likely to cross paths with immigrants and refugees of different heritages and generations.

The U.S. immigrant population in 2020 was 44.9 million, a downturn because of the drop-off in arrivals from Mexico, the COVID-19 pandemic, and legislation that limited the number of documented entrants during the Trump administration. The refugee population is smaller and based on annual admissions from specific countries. Between 2020 and 2022, roughly 48,794 refugees were settled in the United States. In 2020, the majority came from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, and Ukraine. In 2021, the primary countries of origin of refugees were the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, and Afghanistan (Baugh, 2022). There are other categories of new arrivals during this period who also settled in the United States. Up to 30,000 individuals monthly were granted temporary protective status. They were from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Refugees from Afghanistan and Ukraine were granted humanitarian parole (Ward & Batalova, 2023).

This book is motivated by our long-term interest in and experiences with immigrants, refugees, and families of different ages and generations located in different parts of the country, including northern Minneapolis, northern Ohio, Boston, Phoenix, Milwaukee, Chicago, and Winona, Minnesota. In our encounters through community-based research, counseling, and educational settings, we have been inspired by the resilience, goal orientation, and inner fortitude of migrants. At the same time, the hardships of migration demonstrate the mental and physical stressors individuals have suffered and may continue to suffer in the postmigration period in the United States. Managing change is an ongoing process for immigrants and refugees, and these changes are often unpredictable, leading to risks, difficult decisions, and impromptu adaptations to keep moving forward.

A second reason for writing this book is the paucity of literature (e.g., books, research articles, book chapters) on counseling with immigrants. More recent research addresses the postmigration mental health symptoms for specific cultural groups such as unaccompanied minors, identity issues for adolescents, family disharmony because of different rates of acculturation between parents and children, economic stressors, and challenges for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, students. However, specific attention to the mental health needs of immigrants and affirmative counseling approaches is minimal at best.

In this book, our goal is to provide a balanced presentation contextualized in the systems that impinge on immigrants, refugees, and their families from the premigration to the postmigration periods, describing how individuals and families persist to meet their goals. The primary theoretical frameworks for this book are cultural competence development (Ratts et al., 2015; Sue et al., 1992), the biopsychosocial model (Engel, 1980), and Bronfenbrenner’s (1977) ecological model.

All chapters have learning objectives, a reader self-assessment, and a minimum of one case scenario that is a composite of clients and individuals in research studies. The three elements provide structure and focus to various concepts, principles, literature, research, and applications of culturally responsive counseling. Quotes from immigrant participants and examples from our research experiences in different community settings are included as applicable. The glossary provides a compilation of terms most relevant for counselors when working with immigrants and refugees.

Chapter Overview

In Part I: Context, Competencies, and Data to Ground Counseling Practices, we describe an integrated framework, which is then referenced throughout the book chapters. This framework is informed by interdisciplinary research, historical events, and knowledge about contemporary immigrants and refugees.

Chapter 1: Social Justice and Cultural Competency Frameworks for Counseling With Immigrants and Refugees

Frameworks to ground our work as educators, researchers, and clinicians in an increasingly diverse society include the Multicultural Counseling Competencies documents (Arredondo et al., 1996; Sue et al., 1992) and the Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies (MSJCC; Ratts, et al., 2015) developed by members of the American Counseling Association (ACA) and the Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development. These frameworks continue to be used as anchors by professionals and students alike working in different contexts, domestically and internationally. In Chapter 1, we discuss the application of social justice principles from different global contexts, including South Africa and Guatemala, and practices in the decolonization of counseling theories and practices that support culturally responsive counseling. ACA ethical principles will be referenced as they also provide guiding principles for culturally responsive practices.

Chapter 2: Historical Context, Legislation, and Trends in the Migration Process

Forced and voluntary migration is historical, beginning in the “Americas” in the 15th century. To contribute to the building of counselor knowledge, in Chapter 2, we describe the history and evolution of U.S. immigration and the laws that have been used to support or block entry to this country. We discuss the settler colonialism framework given that it has affected the goals of migrants, particularly those perceived as inferior. Concepts such as xenophobia and their effects are explained historically. This chapter will also help counselors recognize language and terms that marginalize and oppress immigrants and refugees and how such terminology may emerge in the counseling process. Because many counselors have an immigrant history, an opportunity to examine one’s personal family migration history is provided.

Chapter 3: Stages of Migration, Acculturation, and Identity Challenges

Research has contributed to our understanding about the different phases and conditions of the migration process and the lifelong effects of acculturation processes. The three-stage model of premigration, migration-specific, and postmigration is introduced and referenced in later discussions about counseling applications. Particular topics reviewed include the push and pull factors for migration and how they may be different for immigrants and refugees. In Chapter 3, we discuss the challenges faced by migrants and their families as well as strengths-based perspectives that need to be considered by counseling professionals. For example, migrants have a planning and risk-taking mindset that fortifies how they negotiate a myriad of challenges during their migration journey and once in their new country of residence. They are planners. Other invisible strengths are protective factors, such as their faith and collectivistic mindset and behavior—what they are doing is for others. Research points to immigrants’ optimism, hope, and resilience. It is in the postmigration phase that the acculturation process evolves, introducing multiple stressors and changes to the lives of immigrants, refugees, and their families. The adjustments and cultural adaptations are many. Immigrants and refugees must also negotiate xenophobia, racism, and other forms of discrimination and microaggressions because of their color, language differences, country of origin, and immigrant identity status. In this chapter, readers will gain a comprehensive view of different migration journeys and migrants’ persistence to arrive in the United States.

Chapter 4: Immigrant and Refugee Identity and Experiences Across the Life Span

Chapter 4 contains a discussion of different developmental task expectations informed by cultural socialization processes and intersecting identities. Immigrants and refugees of different ages, genders, countries of origin, languages, disability, LGBTQ+ status, socioeconomic backgrounds, educational attainment, and skill sets represent a diverse constellation of individuals with intersecting identities who arrive in the United States. Because most immigrants and refugees arrive as adolescents and adults, their sense of identity has been shaped in their country of origin and informed by their cultural values, gender role expectations, and developmental milestones. Examples of socialization experiences from different countries are introduced. From this contextual discussion, identity and role expectation challenges in the host country are described. For counselors, there is a continuing need to be culturally aware and knowledgeable in order to be culturally responsive.

Chapter 5: Disputing Biases and Assumptions Regarding Immigrants and...