BRAVE Study Statement in Support of Black Lives, DACA, and More

To our communities, 

The BRAVE Study Team writes to express our solidarity with the ongoing Black uprising and the SCOTUS decision to uphold DACA. The BRAVE Study team has always believed that no human is illegal and human rights are inherent to all. We also recommit ourselves to immigrant and racial justice, and are reflecting on how we as a study can be stronger active allies to the Black community. 

Over the past five years, we have learned from the stories of non-Black undocumented People of Color:

• Through stories and interviews, undocumented Asian and Pacific Islander (API) immigrants taught us that DACA protects health outcomes through broader social determinants of economic stability, educational opportunities, and access to healthcare.

• Through quantitative surveys, undocumented API and Latinx immigrants taught us that DACA is associated with lower levels of depression and lower gaps in healthcare.

Again and again, our findings point to the importance of DACA in addressing health inequities affecting the undocumented population. But our findings also underscore the need to advocate for more permanent and inclusive protections for all undocumented immigrants. For instance, we have consistently found health disparities within the undocumented community, in which undocumented immigrants without DACA are more likely to lack access to health care, experience discrimination, medical mistrust, and fear of deportation.

In addition, while the initial framing of our studies did not explore the experiences of Black undocumented immigrants, it is not hard to see that Black immigrants are not afforded the same opportunities to benefit from polices such as DACA. It is undeniable that DACA has positively impacted the lives of many eligible young undocumented immigrants, including African and Caribbean undocumented immigrants. However, we know DACA perpetuates ideas of deservingness based on narratives of innocence and merit closely associated with citizenship and whiteness. We refute such juxtapositions of “good” and “bad” immigrants, especially in the context of the racist history of the U.S., wherein criminality continues to have unjust intimacy to Black communities (Meiners, 2015).

Even beyond DACA, we recognize the connections between Black and immigrant liberation. In our study, qualitative interviews with frontline healthcare workers recounted many stories of Public Charge having devastating health impacts on immigrant patients at community health centers. The motives behind policies like Public Charge predate recent immigration history, with roots in 19th century laws that conditioned freedom of enslaved African Americans on bonds assuring that they would not become a public charge (Fremstad, 2020). In addition, we know that PRWORA not only restricted immigrants from accessing public benefits but also banned Americans with felony drug convictions from ever accessing SNAP and TANF, a majority of whom were Black (Mauer & McCalmont, 2013). It is impossible to achieve health equity without reckoning with the histories of anti-Black, anti-Indigeous, anti-Latinx, and anti-Asian racisms in the U.S.

Predictably, healthcare workers in our study highlighted how surveillance, policing, and enforcement actions by either police, ICE, or CBP in communities and health care centers promote fear and jeopardizes public health for all. In this context, some jurisdictions and states enacted policies to disentangle ICE from local law enforcement, including California’s SB54—arguments against which were declined by the SCOTUS just last week. That said, we must simultaneously challenge assumptions that policies like SB54 will improve public safety by enhancing trust between law enforcement and immigrant communities.

Lastly, as many of our community advocates and undocumented activists have pointed out, the SCOTUS decision hinged upon the Trump Administration’s failure to follow procedural requirements for rescinding DACA. We celebrate with undocumented community members who fought tirelessly to secure the recent victory, but also acknowledge its impermanence and limitations in achieving justice for all immigrants. 

This moment makes it undeniably clear the need to integrate the multiple trajectories of Black experiences within undocumented communities. Moving forward, we will continue to engage in personal and community education; support anti-racist work within our institutions and communities; and look for ways to meaningfully engage Black scholars and community members in our future research. As a group of proud immigrants and children of immigrants, we commit to working with others to continue the fight to uphold civil rights and work towards a more equitable society.  

In solidarity,
The BRAVE Study Team

1. Meiners, E. R. (2015). Trouble with the Child in the Carceral State. Social Justice, 41(3 (137)), 120-144.

2. Fremstad, S. (2020, January 20). Lifting Hold on Public Charge Rule Evokes Antebellum Slave Codes. Center for Economic and Policy Research. https://cepr.net/lifting-hold-on-public-charge-rule-evokes-antebellum-slave-codes/

3. Mauer, M, & McCalmont, V. (2013). A Lifetime of Punishment: The Impact of the Felony Drug Ban on Welfare Benefits. The Sentencing Project. https://www.sentencingproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/A-Lifetime-of-Punishment.pdf.