Newswise — As state and federal lawyers argue over President Donald Trump's travel and refugee ban, Wake Forest University experts are available to discuss a wide range of social and political issues facing families seeking U.S. citizenship.
Communication professor Alessandra Von Burg teaches a class in citizenship and has been working with migrants, refugees and other “noncitizens” for 10 years in North Carolina. Last summer, she traveled to refugee camps in Italy and Greece to study the educational and professional background of refugees and how their knowledge and skill sets matched with the economies of their destinations.
Von Burg can discuss:+ stereotypes and misrepresentations of refugees as threats or economic burdens.+ the vetting process required of individuals hoping to come to the United States.+ local and regional resources available to help refugees with resettlement.
Von Burg and Lauren Formica, Global Programs coordinator in Wake Forest’s Center for Global Programs and Studies, recently published “Hoping for Hospitality” a guest column about their experiences interviewing refugees waiting to come to the U.S. Formica traveled with Von Burg to the refugee camps in Italy and Greece.
Sociology professor Hana Brown is an expert in refugee resettlement and immigrant incorporation. Brown’s research looks at how the various resettlement and social welfare benefits refugees receive affect their views and expectations of their host government.
Brown can discuss:+ how immigration policies can make it more or less likely that refugees integrate into U.S. society.+ how the additional benefits and supports refugees receive, that other immigrants do not, translate into higher levels of integration+ how successful cultural integration doesn't just happen as a choice that new immigrants make — policies matter.
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