Diverse Families Assignment Immigrants and Refugee Families Melissa Hallmark

Terminology: Immigrant : A foreign born individual who has been admitted to reside in the United States can also be called a legal permanent resident (LPR). Refugee : people admitted into the U.S. seeking protection on the grounds that they have a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, membership in a social group, political opinion, or national origin. Undocumented Immigrant : a person who is present in the United States without permission from the government. Some of these immigrants enter without any inspection at a border and some enter legitimately but overstay their visas. Children may enter the United States with undocumented family members.

Facts about Immigrant and Refugee Families Between the immigrant pop grew from 31 million to 38.5 million, which is an increase of 24 percent estimated 11.9 unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. Among children foreign-born, 97% have a parent who works and 72% have a parent who works full-time, year round The U.S. allows between 70, ,000 refugees into the country each year. It’s estimated that 80 percent of refugees are women and children. In 2012, 46 percent were under the age of 18 and 48 percent were women. Refugee and immigrant children constitute one of the fastest growing groups in the United States, with numbers increasing to an estimated 9 million children by the end of 2010.

Greatest Refugee Populations in the U.S. Bhutanese Beginning in 1990, thousands of Nepali-speaking Bhutanese were forced to flee to refugee camps in neighboring Nepal, where many have lived for the past 15 to 20 years. As of 2008, many of these refugees have found a new home in the United States. Burmese Burma has been in the midst of a political and armed conflict, which has forced millions of Burmese to flee their homeland. Hundreds of thousands of these refugees have settled in refugee camps in Thailand and Malaysia and some are now being resettled in the United States. Haitians The Cuban and Haitian Entrant Program (CHEP)The Cuban and Haitian Entrant Program (CHEP) originally began in 1980 and is funded by the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement(ORR) to provide eligible Cuban/Haitian Entrants with medical assistance, cash assistance, and social services. Since the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the number of Haitian entrants has increased greatly. Iraqis Violence triggered by the war in Iraq has prompted one of the fastest-growing refugee crises in the world. Millions of Iraqis have fled to neighboring countries like Jordan and Syria to escape the fighting. Now many Iraqis are being resettled in the United States. Somalis Civil war and clan warfare erupted in Somalia in 1991, which resulted in the collapse of the Somali government. Since 1991, it is estimated that over 100,000 Somali refugees have resettled to the United States.

Greatest Immigrant Populations in the U.S. Mexico is by far the top sending country in the last decade, with more than four million immigrants from that country arriving between 2000 and Overall, 53 percent of immigrants have come from Latin America (Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean). In terms of sending the most immigrants, Mexico, India, China, the Philippines, El Salvador, and Guatemala have sent the most during the decade. The former Soviet Union would also rank among the top sending countries as well if it were still intact.

Immigrant family information The fact that so many adult immigrants have little education means their income, poverty rates, welfare use, and other measures of economic attainment lag well behind natives. In 2010, 23 percent of immigrants and their U.S.-born children (under 18) lived in poverty. Immigrants and their children accounted for one-fourth of all persons in poverty. Among the top sending countries, poverty is highest for immigrants and their young children from Mexico (35 percent), Honduras (34 percent), and Guatemala (31 percent); and lowest for those from Germany (7 percent), India (6 percent), and the Philippines (6 percent). In 2010, 29 percent of immigrants and their U.S.-born children (under 18) lacked health insurance Immigrant households account for half of all overcrowded households.

What Teachers Need To Know Many immigrant families arrive in the United States after years of planning for the move and face many changes and challenges along the way. This period of preparation can be stressful, as these families often take the time to familiarize themselves with the English language, secure jobs, and locate future housing. In contrast, many refugee families have fled from persecution, arriving in the United States from refugee camps where they wait, sometimes for years, to be sent to a safe nation. Unlike some immigrants, refugees are often fleeing from oppression, having experienced untold horrors such as rape, abduction, and trafficking, and arriving in the United States with few belongings in order save their lives

What Teachers Need To Know (continued) Children of refugee and voluntary immigrant families share the challenges of adapting to a new culture and learning a new language. Children fleeing from home countries have diverse traumatic experiences, which can have an impact on their successful adjustment.

Teachers Can Help by Providing… Positive teacher dispositions A range of teaching styles and differentiated instruction that meets the needs of individual students A curriculum that relates to students’ lives and gives them real-world connections An after-school tutoring program available for students who need that extra support Strong school–parent communication and relationships Access to counseling to facilitate student adjustment Opportunities to collaboratively solve personal problems with peers and teachers Opportunities to participate in creative out-of-school programs = An environment based on trust, tolerance, and respect for the school community = An environment based on trust, tolerance, and respect for the school community

References Google Images population#execsum heplight.aspx Interviewing-Winter2009.pdf trauma-immigrant-families.pdf rant.cfm#competency L_Report_WEB_ pdf