Jennifer Kam is a Professor of Interpersonal Health Communication at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Dr. Kam uses quantitative and qualitative methods to examine how promotive factors at individual, interpersonal, and institutional levels can help prevent or attenuate the negative effects of stressors on immigrant youth in the United States, specifically, undocumented youth. Kam has published 48 peer-reviewed articles in leading academic journals, such as NCA’s Communication Monographs and Journal of Applied Communication Research. In addition, Kam regularly presents at academic conferences, including the NCA Annual Convention, and has received 10 top paper awards. In 2016, Kam received the NCA Interpersonal Communication Division’s Early Career Award. She is currently the Immediate Past Chair of NCA’s Health Communication Division
1. Generally speaking, how do the stressors that you research affect undocumented immigrant youth?
Much of my research is guided by resilience theory, which suggests that stressors can place people, including undocumented immigrant youth, at risk for a variety of negative outcomes (e.g., decreased mental, physical, relational, academic, and economic well-being). Consistent with this first part of resilience theory, my collaborators (Monica Cornejo, Roselia Mendez Murillo, Nancy Molina-Rogers, and Jesse King) and I have found that immigrant youth (and adults) in the United States—often due to their undocumented status—experience unique stressors that restrict their opportunities, resources, support, freedoms, and sense of belonging. Although undocumented immigrants are heterogenous, in our studies they often report experiencing fear of detention or deportation for themselves or family members; not having a work permit or a Social Security number unless they have Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status; having limited access to good employment opportunities (even after earning a college degree); being ineligible for federal financial aid; experiencing severe financial strain because of their limited economic opportunities; encountering discrimination and oppression at multiple levels (e.g., interpersonal, institutional, state, and federal); and being unable to travel outside the United States to visit loved ones or study abroad for fear of not being allowed back into the United States. On top of these undocumented-related stressors, immigrant youth and adults also often have other minoritized identities based, for example, on their race, ethnicity, nativity, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, and first-generation college student status. Such factors intersect in ways that can be particularly stressful.
Despite these myriad stressors, resilience theory also encourages us to move past a deficit approach in efforts to identify the factors that can prevent, attenuate, and eliminate undocumented-related stressors. Through in-depth, semi-structured interviews, cross-sectional surveys, and longitudinal surveys, my collaborators and I have identified various factors that limit, and in some cases eliminate, the adverse effects of specific stressors. These factors include, for example, certain types of communication with family and nonfamily members (e.g., educators, community mentors, therapists, friends), the allocation of resources and services by institutions and community organizations, and changes in institutional, state, and federal policies.
2. What special challenges have immigrants, including undocumented immigrants, faced during the COVID-19 pandemic?
The COVID-19 pandemic has likely changed and exacerbated the stressors that undocumented immigrants experience. Many undocumented immigrants could not afford to shelter in place. Instead, they had no choice but to continue working for fear of losing their jobs and being unable to meet basic needs, such as paying for food and shelter. Many undocumented immigrants work in the healthcare, food, and agricultural industries—all of which are essential to maintaining the general population’s health and survival. Yet, while undocumented immigrants often play essential roles in assisting others, their own health and safety are at risk.
Based on in-depth, semi-structured interviews conducted with Latinx undocumented immigrants in California, Monica Cornejo, Roselia Mendez Murillo, Nancy Molina-Rogers, Jesse King, and I identified numerous challenges that undocumented immigrants faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some challenges were pre-existing, whereas others were brought on or exacerbated by the pandemic. Among undocumented immigrants who had never attended college (n = 50), many reported that they and their family members experienced severe financial struggles during the COVID-19 pandemic. They reported an inability to pay rent, food insecurity, loss of employment or reduced work hours, difficulty paying for utilities and communication technologies/connectivity, and disqualification from federal financial assistance. Among undocumented immigrants who were enrolled in college (n = 30) at the time of the study, some reported fear that their family members—many of whom were essential workers who did not have health insurance—would contract COVID-19. Some undocumented college students also experienced job loss, and therefore, feared they could not financially support their family or pay for their college expenses. Many reported that they found it difficult to balance school, work, and caregiving responsibilities when they moved back in with family. They also had limited space at home to focus on school without being distracted, and they could not talk to a mental health professional for fear that family would overhear their conversation. Although some of these challenges have also been reported by college students who are documented, students’ undocumented status seemed to exacerbate the difficulties.
3. How can research like yours be used to create positive change for undocumented immigrant youth?
I hope key stakeholders (e.g., educational institutions, immigration-focused non-profit organizations, employers, therapists, allies, and co-conspirators) can use our findings to create more resources and support for undocumented immigrants and engage in actions that can eliminate some of the stressors that undocumented immigrants encounter in the United States. For example, I’m currently collaborating with Suellen Hopfer, several undocumented college students, and my university’s Counseling & Psychological Services and Undocumented Student Services to create short videos that break down barriers to talking with culturally informed mental health professionals. We are co-producing these videos based on in-depth, semi-structured interviews collected with undocumented college students, as well as on insights gained from our partnership with Counseling & Psychological Services and Undocumented Student Services. My collaborators and I are also using our findings to provide recommendations for Counseling & Psychological Services to improve access and services for undocumented college students. I also would like to see my findings (across many different studies that I have conducted with undocumented immigrants) inform secondary and higher education policy changes, the allocation of resources and services, and programming for undocumented students and school personnel. And, ideally, my findings could provide further evidence for why we need larger policy changes at the federal and state levels that would benefit undocumented immigrants in the United States.
4. You’re a very active researcher. Do you have any tips for time management or writing?
I rely heavily on an online calendar. Instead of writing a list of things to do, I section them off in my calendar. Based on their priority, urgency, and amount of time they might take to complete, I assign them to different days and amounts of time. I also use color coding, so that my meetings are in green, my toddler pick-up or drop-off time is in yellow, and my work times for various tasks are in pink. And, when I finish a task, I either remove it from my calendar or move the color-coded task to an earlier time that has passed, so I know the task is completed. One thing I really try to avoid is having to frantically write up to the last minute to meet a deadline (e.g., NCA submissions). I hate the anxiety that can produce. My online calendar helps me manage my time and avoid situations where I have to rush to meet a deadline. My method won’t work for everyone, but I find it works well for my own mental and physical well-being.
5. You’ve worked on numerous projects with graduate students during your career. What advice do you have for graduate students who are looking to get involved in faculty research projects?
From my experience as a faculty member at several universities, I believe most faculty want to work with graduate students. Hopefully, faculty are inviting graduate students to meet with them to discuss potential collaborations, but I also encourage graduate students to reach out to faculty. Our new students are strongly encouraged to meet with several faculty members when the students first join our program, so students can become more familiar with the projects that faculty are working on and see if there might be opportunities for collaboration. I also encourage my advisees to work with other faculty, so they can be introduced to different perspectives and approaches to conducting research. When graduate students schedule a time to meet with a faculty member, I also recommend that they develop some specific goals and questions to discuss with the faculty member.