Building Connections with Immigrant Communities

Perhaps the challenge that most defines the barriers faced by immigrant communities in the region is the lack of connection to the larger community. This is not particularly unexpected, as many of the great assets brought by immigrants to Iowa—such as diversity in thought, culture, experience, etc.—can be isolating as well. A lack of familiarity with systems, customs, and institutions not only serves to increase a feeling of disconnect from the larger community, but may also create a real and significant barrier to accessing resources and services. Addressing this lack of connection increases the effectiveness and reach of existing programs and services and is crucial for helping develop the civic pride, collective action, and leadership of immigrant populations.

Interviews with immigrants and advocates have identified several ways that this disconnection manifests:

• Language differences: Immigrants who are not fluent in English can face significant challenges accessing information, signing up for services, and providing input to community organizations. These challenges are only reinforced by the lack of resources nationally for languages such as Marshallese and Mayan dialects, and by the fact that many Mayan dialects are primarily spoken and not written (which is also true to a lesser degree for Marshallese).
• Lack of familiarity with institutions: For many immigrants, a lack of understanding and connection to common institutions and organizations can lead to challenges accessing available resources. For example, an immigrant family’s lack of familiarity with their local hospital, and American hospitals in general, could lead to a lack of preventative care, overdue bills, inaccurate diagnoses, and other avoidable issues.
• Lack of familiarity with systems: The challenges listed above are often compounded when there is a lack of familiarity with an entire system, such as the local healthcare, education, or criminal justice systems. Navigating systems can be a daunting task for any individual in the region, but the difficulty is frequently exacerbated when the system is unfamiliar or different than a similar system in the individual’s country of birth.
• Cultural differences: Cultural differences and an absence of cultural understanding frequently widens feelings of disconnect and separation from services. Examples include differences in Pacific Islander conceptions of time, which can lead to missed appointments, and how many Marshallese youth avoid eye contact with elders as a sign of respect, which can lead to challenges during job interviews.
• Fear of doing something wrong: For many immigrants, their unfamiliarity with local institutions and systems may lead to fear that they will somehow mess up or do something wrong. This fear can be rooted in social or cultural attitudes (“I don’t want to upset people or look foolish”) or concern over legal repercussions. Either way, it can lead to individuals not engaging with systems or not actively expressing questions or concerns in order to avoid any potential conflict.
• Geographic disconnect: For immigrants who are new to a region or a city, they may first gain familiarity with areas that they frequently visit (their home neighborhood, where they work, the local school, etc.). While this is likely true for any new resident of an area, it can feel especially true for immigrants moving from another country. This can mean the geographic distribution of resources can have a much bigger impact on how often immigrants access those resources. For example, if an immigrant family lives in the Dubuque’s West End neighborhood, but a resource is located in the Downtown neighborhood, that family may not know of the resource or may not feel comfortable accessing it.
• Lack of relationships: The reality of the region is that relationships frequently play a significant role in providing access to everything from jobs to housing to local information. While immigrants often have strong relationships with those within their own community, a lack of ties to the broader Dubuque population can increase the barriers to accessing services and resources.
• Lack of Trust: One of the biggest sources of disconnect leading to an inability to access resources is low levels of trust. Immigrant communities frequently have trust concerns with local organizations that are not based within their community, generally due to a lack of relationships, cultural unfamiliarity, and at times legal and safety concerns.

This disconnect also works in the opposite direction, posing significant disadvantages for institutions and service providers looking to engage with immigrant families:

• Language: An absence of translation or interpretation services can often make it difficult for service providers to successfully reach immigrant communities and to effectively communicate.
• Culture: A lack of cultural competence on the part of organizations can also lead to significant communication barriers. An example discussed in the section on Workforce and Employment relates to employers. Cultural misunderstandings may limit hiring opportunities and lead to higher employee turnover.
• Homogenous view of population: In some instances, organizations have viewed immigrant communities as homogenous, without understanding the internal dynamics and relationships that may be important for effective communication and services. For example, support for the Marshallese community targets some of the Marshallese churches, but not all of them (there are currently seven Marshallese churches in Dubuque). This can limit the reach of programming and may cause resentment. This issue is discussed more in the immigrant mapping report.
• Limited information and data on immigrant groups: Local data on immigrant groups is extremely difficult to obtain. Not only is there limited information, but often sources that do exist (such as the American Community Survey) may be inaccurate and frequently undercount immigrant populations.
• Lack of relationships: Institutions that do not have strong relationships with immigrant communities often struggle with program implementation. Establishing these relationships can be difficult.
• Difficulty with follow-up: Even when organizations can connect with members of immigrant communities, follow-up meetings and conversations are often difficult to schedule and consistently hold due to the barriers discussed above. This creates additional separation, limits the ability of programs to be effective through sustained engagement, and does not allow for trust to build between the individual and the organization.

These barriers are often compounded by the challenges of poverty in ways that are specifically relevant for immigrants. Foreign-born residents of Dubuque County are nearly two-and-a-half times as likely to be below the poverty line as native-born residents of the county.[1] There is evidence that the lack of resources and stresses associated with poverty can lead to isolation and challenges fully accessing resources.[2] In addition, the “scarcity mindset” that can result from poverty may limit people’s ability to pursue available services, especially more aspirational opportunities focused on the future.[3]

Taken together, these barriers to connection can have a substantial impact on the ability of immigrant populations to engage with local resources. Immigrants will be less likely to seek out services, and service providers will have a much more difficult time identifying immigrant families to serve. Communication, cultural, and trust barriers also limit the ability to follow-up with immigrants and make providing referrals significantly more difficult. Even when immigrant residents can access services, the level of disconnect may make them less impactful than otherwise would be the case. This means that no matter how effective local services are, immigrant communities’ ability to successfully use these services will always be limited if this lack of connection exists.

This guide will focus on four main ways to establish and maintain connections with immigrant communities.

• The first is capacity and power building within immigrant communities, providing members of those communities with additional influence and resources to advocate for their communities.
• The second is improving outreach from social service providers, helping them connect more effectively to a greater number of immigrant families.
• The third is improving navigation at key agencies and organizations to help immigrant populations make better use of existing services.
• And the fourth is through expanded cultural offerings designed to help the larger community understand and build connections with local immigrant communities.

To read more about capacity and power building and find recommendations, click here.

For a discussion of how local organization can improve outreach, click here.

To read about the value of immigrant navigators, click here.

To read about how cultural events can build connections with immigrant communities, click here.

To read a discussion on how to engage in ongoing collective work on immigration, click here.

To read about seven issue areas that are facing immigrant communities, click here.

To return to the Immigration Community Assessment welcome page, click here.