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Open Access Publications from the University of California

Scholarly Works (2 results)

  • Thesis
  • Peer Reviewed
UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations (2024)

In an era marked by increasing globalization, diverse migration patterns, and shifting policy environments, understanding the multifaceted dimensions of social capital and its relationship with immigrants’ negative perceptions of the policy context, ethnicity, and legal status is of paramount importance. This study examined the multifaceted dimensions of social capital, including perceived mutual trust, perceived social trust, perceived neighborhood safety, community organization involvement, and political engagement. Research suggests different aspects of social capital are related to immigrants’ integration in multiple ways. Active community involvement fosters a sense of belonging and solidarity among diverse community members, contributing to social cohesion. The policy context is also closely linked to immigrant integration processes. Exclusionary policies can hinder immigrant integration and erode social cohesion by creating divisions and resentment within communities. This dissertation study utilizes cross-sectional data from the 2018, 2019, and 2020 Research on Immigrant Health and State Policy (RIGHTS) survey, using a sample of Asian and Latinx immigrants aged 18 and older. Results from the ordinal regression analysis revealed immigrants’ negative perceptions of the policy context was associated with higher levels of political engagement. Immigrants’ negative perceptions of the policy context was also associated with feeling less safe in their neighborhood. Latinx immigrants were less likely to agree about neighborly willingness to help, compared to their Asian counterparts. However, Latinx immigrants were more likely to feel safe in their neighborhood compared to Asian immigrants. This study contributes to the literature on immigrant integration via an examination of dimensions of social capital offering nuanced insights into the experiences and perceptions of Asian and Latinx immigrant communities in California. By elucidating the factors that underpin social capital and its association with the policy context, findings hold implications for policymakers, community organizers, and social workers.

    Cover page: The Dimensions of Social Capital and Perceptions of the Policy Context among Asian and Latinx Immigrants living in California: Findings from the Research on Immigrant Health and State Policy Survey
    • Article
    • Peer Reviewed
    UC San Francisco Previously Published Works (2022)
    While immigrants in the US suffer poor access to healthcare in general, access within immigrant populations varies notably by legal status and employment. Intersections between immigration, employment, and healthcare policy have shaped immigrants access or exclusion from healthcare; however, little research has examined how immigrants experience and navigate these intersections. Drawing on social exclusion theory and the theory of bounded agency, we aimed to investigate Mexican and Chinese immigrants experiences of exclusion from healthcare as one key dimension of social exclusion-and how this was shaped by interactions with the institutions of immigration and employment. The examination of two ethnic immigrant groups who live under the same set of policies allows for a focus on the common impacts of policy. We selected Mexican and Chinese immigrants as the two largest subgroups in Californias Latinx and Asian immigrant population. We use a policy lens to analyze qualitative data from the mixed-methods Research on Immigrant Health and State Policy (RIGHTS) Study, involving 60 in-depth interviews with Mexican and Chinese immigrants in California between August 2018-August 2019. We identified two primary themes: pathways of social exclusion and access, and strategies used to address social exclusion. Findings show that immigrants exclusion from healthcare is fundamentally linked to legal status and employment, and that immigrants navigate difficult choices between opportunities for improved employment and changes in legal status. We argue that multiple categories of legal status affect immigrants employment opportunities and social position, which, in turn, translates to stratified healthcare access. Our findings support the literature establishing legal status as a mechanism of social stratification but challenge legal-illegal binary paradigms.
      Cover page: Social exclusion at the intersections of immigration, employment, and healthcare policy: A qualitative study of Mexican and Chinese immigrants in California.
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