Immigrant Populations in the Region

Dubuque County is home to a wide variety of people from different backgrounds and cultures. Data from the Census Bureau suggests that Dubuque County residents immigrated from over fifty countries across the world.[1] The stories of each immigrant family are unique and varied, as are those of their communities and cultures. This richness is a tremendous asset to the region and elevating and exploring these stories should be a rewarding part of its collective identity. It also means that this guide could not possibly capture the realities of each of these different heritages and identities. Even adequately explaining the experiences and traditions of any specific group is well beyond its capabilities. Any description of local immigrant groups will be largely incomplete. However, it may be valuable for readers to be presented with some background information about certain groups within the region.
With this goal in mind, the following section will look at some of the local immigrant populations who had findings that extended from the immigration community assessment. Each section will focus on providing a brief description, important findings that may be of relevance to local stakeholders, and/or areas of concern warranting future research.
Pacific Islanders
The region boasts one of the largest Pacific Islander populations in Iowa. While this population comes from a number of different countries, the majority are Marshallese. The Republic of the Marshall Islands is a nation composed of more than 1,100 islands and islets located in the Pacific Ocean. The Marshall Islands has a complicated and difficult history with the United States. Colonized by the Japanese in the early 1900s, the Marshallese Islands were then occupied by the U.S. during World War II. In the years following the war, the U.S. conducted a total of sixty-seven nuclear weapons tests within the Marshall Islands. This significantly impacted the ecosystem of the Marshall Islands and led to major health problems for residents due to the increased radiation.[2] In large part as a recognition of these events, the U.S. and the Marshall Islands signed an agreement called the Compact of Free Association (COFA) in 1982, which has governed the relationship between the two countries since.
Due to their status as COFA migrants, Marshallese citizens can freely travel, live, and work in the United States without needing a visa. This status has allowed many Marshallese families to move to Dubuque in recent decades, making the Marshallese the fastest growing population in the county. However, COFA migrants still face several legal and administrative barriers, including not being eligible for federal services such as SNAP benefits or cash assistance.
Another significant group of Pacific Islanders in the region is the Pohnpeian population, residing primarily in Maquoketa. This population is smaller than the Marshallese population and differs from it in a number of important ways, including in language and culture, and in the social structure of the community. However, these communities also share many similarities in their experience, and have an important social and cultural connection. While this guide provides more input from the Marshallese population, there are a number of instances where comparisons are drawn, and lessons learned, regarding the experiences of the Pohnpeian community.

The Marshallese in Dubuque have a network of relationships and social connections that are an impressive asset to both the community and to the region. However, these networks are not always understood by the larger community. For example, there are currently seven Marshallese churches operating in Dubuque, and previous efforts to funnel support through only one of these churches have produced resentment and dissatisfaction among other parishes. During focus group sessions, some Marshallese expressed that they would not feel comfortable attending a meeting or workshop held in a different church. More information about the Marshallese network of relationships can be found in a mapping report conducted by the Community Foundation.
As the Pacific Islander community grows within the region, Pacific Islander groups and culture are also becoming more visible. The inclusion of a Marshallese boat in an exhibit at the National River Museum and Aquarium, the growth of Pacific Islander organizations such as Monsoon, the establishment of the Marshallese women’s group Kora Im An Kol (KIAK), and a number of other recent achievements have been important for the area. This type of growth and greater visibility should be supported by the larger community. This guide aims to highlight several possible ways of doing so.
Latinos
Dubuque’s Latino/Latina/Latinx (hereafter referred to as “Latino”) population is the largest immigrant community within the region. It also represents a wide variety of individuals with cultural roots in over a dozen countries and territories across the Americas and the world. This diversity makes Dubuque’s Latino community culturally rich, as well as complex and virtually impossible to summarize.
Latino and Hispanic are also considered to be ethnicities by many data collection agencies (like the U.S. Census Bureau), meaning that there are many Latino people in the community who also have racial identities including white, Black, indigenous, among others. The large number of nationalities, races, and other identities within the Latino population is part of what makes it such a vibrant community. However, during interviews, many individuals within that community expressed uncertainty about their full cultural and social identity and how it relates to the categories used in reports such as this.
The Latino community is also one of the most prevalent immigrant communities in rural areas within the region. Many smaller towns and agricultural communities often have Latino populations that play an important local role both culturally and economically. Creating a more welcoming and connected environment has become a bigger focus for many of these places, as many rural Latinos still face barriers to becoming fully connected within the community.
Research for the community assessment has also identified a distinction within the Latino population that creates important considerations for local stakeholders and policy makers, namely that there is a notable socio-economic separation within the Latino community. This includes a more financially secure population composed of a frequently multilingual professional workforce with closer connections to Dubuque organizations and institutions, as well as a lower-income population that is less likely to have English language skills, is more marginalized within Dubuque, and often lacks connections to formal institutions. This separation can also be seen along generational lines, with younger individuals and those who are second-generation immigrants being more likely to speak English and have connections to institutions.
The relationships between these two socio-economic groups are highly complex and not always clear, and families may contain individuals that fit into both categories. However, the distinction, as imperfect as it is, is useful for identifying the differences in how these two groups access important information, resources, and services. Many Latinos of a lower socio-economic status have faced numerous barriers to building trust with local individuals and institutions, which frequently results in a lack of connection to formal service providers. This community is one of the most likely to operate without interacting with more formal institutional channels, staying “in the shadows” and engaging with service providers only in emergency situations. Language availability was often a big driver of distrust, as many Latino individuals feel less willing to engage with institutions that only operated in English. These challenges are explored more in the mapping report conducted by the Community Foundation.
Guatemalan Mayans
The Guatemalan Mayan community is one of the quickest growing populations in Dubuque. While many of these individuals consider themselves Latino and share similarities with other individuals with ethnic or cultural roots in Latin America, it is important to address this population separately due to their unique circumstances. These Guatemalan migrants come from indigenous Mayan tribes, each of which has many distinct cultural traditions, histories, and languages. Many Guatemalan Mayans arrive in the United States not speaking English or Spanish, but instead one of over twenty Mayan dialects. The most spoken among residents in Dubuque are Ixil, K’iche’ (Quiche), and Q’anjab’al (Kanjobal). This population is composed of relatively recent arrivals in Dubuque compared to other immigrant groups, with most having arrived after 2010. The Census estimates that the Guatemalan population grew nearly eight-fold between 2010 and 2020,[3] and the increase in the Guatemalan Mayan population (a subset of all Guatemalans) was likely even more dramatic. Throughout this guide, the Guatemalan Mayan community will often be discussed separately due to the unique challenges and opportunities they face.
Many Guatemalan Mayans come to Dubuque as what are called “unaccompanied minors” or “unaccompanied children.” To be designated as an unaccompanied minor by the U.S. government, the individual must be under eighteen years old, not yet have an immigration status, and have no parent or legal guardian with them.[4] Most of these unaccompanied minors will arrive at the U.S. border and be interviewed by border officials, before being given transportation to Dubuque and being released under the supervision of a “sponsor” (often a relative or a neighbor from Guatemala who is now living in Dubuque). The minor is then assigned an immigration court case where it is determined whether they will be granted temporary resident status (usually with what is called Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, or SIJS[5]), and thus putting them on the road to obtain a green card and eventually citizenship. Unfortunately, in recent years the wait times for hearings on SIJS have increased from months to two, three, or even four years. As such, these unaccompanied minors face a number of challenges trying to navigate the legal system and access resources and services in Dubuque while they wait. Many of these challenges, along with potential opportunities, are discussed more fully in this report.
While many Guatemalan Mayans are more recent arrivals in Dubuque, a group of individuals who arrived as unaccompanied minors have now been in the region long enough to become more established. Several have received their green cards and U.S. citizenship, and one family recently obtained a mortgage and bought their first home. This growth means that there is the potential for a group of more secure Guatemalan Mayans who may be able to serve as visible, well-connected leaders for their community. As discussed later in this report, several Guatemalan Mayans have already begun taking more active and public roles, including one woman working with Ixil-speaking students in the Dubuque Community School District and another group partnering with a local nonprofit to help maintain a community garden. More details about the Guatemalan Mayans and their connections to formal institutions are discussed in the mapping report conducted by the Community Foundation.
Southeast Asians
The Census’ 2021 American Community Survey estimates that there are over 400 foreign-born individuals that originate from Southeast Asia in Dubuque County, including from countries like the Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Indonesia. This group includes a wide range of nationalities, cultures, and languages, with individuals in different professions and living in different parts of the community (about 26% live outside the city of Dubuque).[6]
Some local service providers in Dubuque are concerned that there may be a group of Southeast Asian immigrants who are more marginalized and less connected with available services. Some of these individuals may work at massage parlors, nail salons, or other service businesses. Dedicated outreach to these populations is not as common within the region, and there has been less effort locally to do dedicated translation for Southeast Asian languages. Very little information is available regarding the needs and challenges faced by this community; further research and outreach to this group is important.
Very little information is available regarding the needs and challenges faced by this community; further research and outreach to this group is important.
Chinese
The 2020 American Community Survey estimates that there are over 230 foreign-born individuals originating from China in the city of Dubuque.[7] There are also many students who come from China to learn at Dubuque’s colleges and universities. One aspect of this population, highlighted through this research, is its community’s success in hosting cultural events and other services. An example is the Mandarin Ministry in Dubuque, run out of the Westminster Presbyterian Church, which has hosted an annual Chinese Lunar New Year celebration, taught Mandarin and ESL classes, and provided other opportunities for Dubuque residents to engage with aspects of Chinese culture. Their ability to do this without widespread sponsorships from local nonprofits and city organizations focused on multiculturalism, but instead primarily in partnership with the Westminster Church, is a valuable model to consider for cultural engagement.
Refugees
While the term “refugee” is often used in a general way to refer to immigrants who have come to the U.S. after fleeing violence and oppression, the term also refers to a legal status given to some immigrants. It is important to discuss briefly how they are similar to and distinct from “asylum seekers,” who also come to the U.S. fleeing violence and human rights violations. The primary difference between the two statuses is where the designation takes place. Refugees generally receive their designation outside of the U.S. from a trusted organization like the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The U.S. then accepts a limited number of refugees to be resettled into the U.S., with the placement usually done by a refugee placement agency. Asylum seekers, on the other hand, receive their designation inside the U.S. Asylum seekers generally present themselves to a U.S. Border or Customs official, go through an initial determination of whether they have a credible fear of persecution, and if it is found that they do so then go through an immigration court case to determine whether they should receive asylum. Often these individuals are released into the U.S. to await their court date, though in recent years U.S. policy has had asylum seekers at the border with Mexico wait for their case in Mexico.
There are a number of families in the region who have members that have come to the U.S. as refugees. However, the local organization that had previously provided refugee placement services for the area, Catholic Charities, ended its refugee resettlement work in 2017 due to the decrease in refugees being admitted to the U.S. on a national level,[8] Since that time, Dubuque has not had a refugee resettlement agency placing refugees in the community.
In 2021 and 2022, in response to the influx of refugees from Afghanistan to the United States, a number of individuals, churches, and nonprofit organizations worked to settle Afghan families in Dubuque and provide them with services. At least two Afghan families have been resettled in Dubuque so far through sponsorship from local churches and collections of private individuals. Additional conversations and discussions have been held regarding Ukrainian refugees. It appears that unless a refugee resettlement agency begins operating in the region again—either through the opening of new services or the expansion of a nearby agency such as the Catherine McAuley Center[9]—refugee resettlement will likely take place through private sponsorship.
Continue Reading
To see a list of some of the projects and accomplishments that have already been conducted in conjunction with the Immigration Community Assessment, click here.
To learn more about the methodology used for this community assessment, click here.
To return to the Introduction to the Immigration Community Assessment, click here.
To return to the Immigration Community Assessment Welcome Page, click here.