In 2026, the Institute on Immigrant Integration Research and Policy (III-RP) will host a series of webinars and conferences. Please see the schedule and descriptions below. Specific dates and times are still being determined.
Foreign-born Americans often report lower rates of disability compared to their native-born counterparts. This may be due to several reasons, including underreporting due to cultural stigma, lack of knowledge about disabilities, language barriers, and fear of affecting immigration status. Foreign-born Americans develop disabilities at a higher rate than their native-born counterparts, as they are more likely to be exposed to working in physically demanding jobs and deal with acculturative stress. Unlike their native-born counterparts, however, they may have lower access to preventive and support services because of language and communication challenges, lack of awareness of rights and available services, legal status restrictions, distrust, and different understanding of disabilities. This webinar brings together a panel of experts to examine the intersections of nativity status with disability to deepen understanding of how systems of healthcare, education, employment, and housing can create more inclusive access and expand opportunity structures for foreign-born Americans with disabilities. Evidence-based models and best practices are discussed.
Foreign-born Americans from non-European countries may face discrimination in hiring, wages, and promotions. They may earn less than their White native-born counterparts even with comparable education and experience. They may also be disproportionately funneled into low-paying, high-risk jobs, which limit upward mobility. Discriminatory practices are also experienced in housing, leading to neighborhood segregation. Foreign-born of color often live in marginalized neighborhoods due to systemic racism in housing policies and affordability issues. These neighborhoods are frequently exposed to pollution, poor infrastructure, and lower access to clean air, water, and healthy food. Children of racialized immigrant backgrounds may have unequal access to education as they are more likely to attend underfunded schools and face language barriers without adequate support. They may experience racism from peers or educators, leading to lower self-esteem, academic disengagement, and disciplinary disparities. Their history and perspectives are excluded from the curricula. Foreign-born of color may receive lower quality care due to language barriers, implicit bias, and racism in the healthcare system. They may also report lower health outcomes than their White counterparts. They may also experience increased risk of anxiety, depression, and trauma because of cultural dislocation, xenophobia, and racism. Media and political discourse may also contribute to the stigmatization of foreign-born of color and fuel exclusionary narrative and policies leading to disintegration, providing fertile grounds for hate crime, violence, social stigma, stereotypes, marginalization, and hostility. In this webinar, we examine theory-driven models of promoting cross-cultural understanding and examine frameworks for fostering cross-racial, inclusive, and harmonious relations. Best practices in integrated schooling, intercultural exchange, workplace diversity initiatives, identity-based education, and multicultural policies that affirm multiple group identities and culturally responsive teaching and learning will be examined.
What is the status of immigrant women in the U.S in general and in New York in particular? Do they face employment and economic inequality compared to their foreign-born male and native-born female counterparts? Is there a double disadvantage of being foreign-born and a woman in the U.S? Is there a double wage penalty? Do immigrant women have a higher unemployment rate? Do they experience underemployment as a demographic group due to non-recognition of foreign-obtained degrees and experience? Do they access high-paying jobs, healthcare, and education? Where do they stand with respect to language proficiency? Do they have a higher risk of intimate partner violence? Are culturally and linguistically appropriate services, providing shelter, legal aid, and support, available to them? Do support services exist for women whose gendered cultural expectations restrict them to the domestic sphere, causing social isolation and limiting integration? This webinar shares the latest data on foreign-born women and examines model programs for addressing their unique needs and overcoming social, economic, and political challenges they face in integrating into their communities.
Geographic location shapes labor market conditions and can restrict or expand the opportunity structure available to foreign-born Americans. Residing in urban versus rural areas can provide greater access to diverse job markets, ethnic networks, and services. While rural areas may offer fewer opportunities and support systems. Local economies within robust job markets can influence the type of work available to immigrants and shape long-term economic mobility. The local socio-political climate affects whether immigrants feel welcome. Policies that are friendly or hostile shape opportunity structures. The context of reception and the attitudes of host communities toward immigrants also influence the ability to thrive and integrate economically and socially. Multicultural and inclusive cities are more likely to provide a climate where immigrants can engage and feel less isolated and marginalized. Living near established co-ethnic communities can provide access to language support, social networks, and cultural familiarity, and provide a soft landing for newly arriving immigrants. However, ethnic enclaves may also limit the social capital needed for upward mobility beyond the enclave. Metropolitan areas are more likely to have a rich infrastructure of support services, including ESL programs, adult education, bilingual services, and public transportation that enable access to jobs and address mobility barriers that limit integration. On the other hand, urban areas may have a high cost of living, overcrowded housing, and financial strain compared to more affordable housing options in smaller cities or suburbs. This webinar explores programs and practices that intentionally address place-based challenges in communities where immigrants settle and offers a roadmap for creating thriving climates.
Immigrant older adults face a unique constellation of challenges due to the intersection of age, migration status, language, culture, and often socioeconomic marginalization. These challenges vary by individual experience but generally fall into several key categories including: (a) language barriers (difficulty communicating with healthcare providers, social services, or neighbors, and limited access to translated information or interpreters); (b) cultural disconnection (loss of cultural traditions or alienation from dominant societal norms, experiences of cultural invisibility or being misunderstood, challenges adapting to different values around aging, independence, or elder care); (c) limited access to healthcare (lack of culturally competent or linguistically appropriate care, ineligibility for public health insurance depending on immigration status, and higher risk of chronic conditions going unmanaged); (d) economic insecurity (inadequate retirement savings due to interrupted work histories or low-paying jobs, ineligibility for pensions or social security benefits, and overreliance on family or informal work for survival); (e) social isolation (shrinking social networks due to family dispersion or loss, physical distance or emotional estrangement from children/family, and lack of community programming for older immigrants in their language or cultural context; (f) mental health struggles (depression, anxiety, and trauma—often undiagnosed or untreated, stress due to intergenerational conflict or perceived burden on family, past trauma from migration, displacement, or refugee experience); (g) legal and immigration status (fear of deportation or family separation (especially among undocumented older adults), ineligibility for public services due to visa or residency status, and difficulties navigating legal systems or understanding rights); (h) housing instability (overcrowded living conditions with extended family, risk of elder abuse or neglect in intergenerational households and limited access to age-friendly or subsidized housing); and (i) digital divide (difficulty using technology for social connection, accessing services, or telehealth. Discussions will examine models that maintain the provision of culturally and linguistically appropriate health and social services, community centers offering intergenerational and language-specific programs, legal advocacy for benefits access and residency stability, technology training and digital literacy programs for older foreign-born adults, and policy change to expand older immigrant eligibility for public benefits.
The Intersectionality Framework, developed by Crenshaw (1989), highlights how overlapping systems of power affect those marginalized by multiple axes of identity. In this conference, we focus on how institutional and policy-level factors disadvantage foreign-born Americans whose multiple minoritized social identities intersect with nativity status. We examine how policies and practices can alleviate structural vulnerability and eliminate conditions that threaten the well-being of these segments of the population. We explore the systems that are challenging or reinforcing these structures. We ask how these identities interact to create unique lived experiences. Where does compound discrimination or compound advantage occur? A call for papers will be issued in January 2026 to solicit paper presentations that address the conference themes. We will invite presenters who will apply an equity and fairness lens in analyzing structural changes needed to be intersectionally inclusive and design interventions that account for complex identity configurations.
