How National Self-Interest and Foreign Policy Continue to Influence the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program
Published in Fordham Law Review (2006)

This article posits that the US should allot the limited number of overseas refugee slots to victims of human rights abuses and those best served by a humanitarian response. In particular, resettlement in the United States should be prioritized for people that the US has harmed, as this would promote a broader and more enduring type of national self-interest than a policy that continues to politicize persecuted refugees.

Images of Islam in U.S. Media and their Educational Implications
Published in Journal of the American Educational Studies Association (2010)

In this article, the author discusses the challenge for multicultural education by reference to some of the common themes that emerge in widely disseminated negative images of Islam and Muslims in US media since September 11, 2001. Articulating this trend as a challenge to teachers aiming to provide students with more balanced, impartial understandings of Islam and Muslims, the article discusses the need for thematic, analytical, and critical media literacy in social studies classrooms that responds to the irresponsible, incidental education of mass media, discussing in relation some best teaching practices for managing resources to learn about Muslims and related topics in public schools today.

Islam and Muslims in U.S. public schools since September 11, 2001
Published in Journal of the Religious Education Association (2012)

While much research has considered the way Muslims are represented in the mass media in recent years, there has been little exploration of the way Muslims and Islam are discussed in U.S. public schools. This article considers how Muslims and Islam are represented in educational standards, textbooks, and supplementary resources, with an eye to the need since September 11, 2001, to provide a broad understanding of this religion and group as part of the diversity of public life within U.S. society and across a global community.

Boxed In: Reclassification of Arab Americans on the U.S. Census as Progress or Peril?
Published in Loyola University Chicago Law Journal (2016)

Deemed white by law since 1944, the 2020 U.S. census may afford Arab Americans with the unprecedented opportunity to identify as Middle-Eastern or North African (MENA), and thus, non-white. This article is the first scholarly intervention examining this proposed reform, the converging government interests spurring this moment of “racial progress” and the civil liberties concerns it raises for Arab Americans.

Framing the Syrian Refugee Crisis: A Comparative Analysis of Arabic and English News Sources
Published in International Journal of Communication (2018)

This study offers a beginning conceptualization of how geography, sociocultural elements, and political dynamics influence the representation and media framing of global humanitarian crises, such as the Syrian refugee crisis. Indeed, it provides a glimpse into how broader regional entities and dynamics influence news and suggests that media messages are not isolated but intertwined with and influenced by the spaces and contexts in which they operate.

Addressing Occupational Deprivation in Refugees: A Scoping Review
Published in the Journal of Refugee and Global Health (2018)

This study examines the occupational deprivation of refugee populations and mapped interventions that refugees who face this global problem can use, such as community-based rehabilitation, familiar activities from native countries, projective techniques that encourage positive emotional expression, mastery of practical skills that allow for navigation in a new environment, and activities that promote social competence, inclusion, and participation.

Bringing Evidence to the Refugee Integration Debate
Published in Urban Institute (2018)

The report highlights the importance of grounding policies and decision making. By synthesizing existing evidence on integration outcomes, it provides key context on resettled refugees and the policy conversation while discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the data sources and methods on which researchers rely.

COVID-19 and U.S.-Based Refugee Populations: Commentary
Published in American Psychological Association (2020)

This article summarizes some of the main approaches used to address the unique needs of refugee and asylum-seeker populations at the Boston Medical Center in Massachusetts.

Global call to action for inclusion of migrants and refugees in the COVID-19 response
Published in Lancet (2020)

The Lancet Migration calls for migrants and refugees to be urgently included in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Creating Refugees: Displacement Caused by the United States’ Post-9/11 Wars
Published in Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs (2020)

The report is the first to comprehensively measure how many people these wars have displaced. Using the best available international data, this report conservatively estimates that at least 37 million people have fled their homes in the eight most violent wars the U.S. military has launched or participated in since 2001.

Impact of COVID-19 on Resettled Refugees
Published in Elsevier (2020)

The article points to the unique challenges refugees faced during the COVID-19 pandemic and offers suggestions for mitigating pandemic related harm, including communication, case management, and advocacy.

From the Democratic Republic of the Congo to North Carolina: An Examination of Chronic Disease Risk
Published in Journal of Refugee and Global Health (2020)

Refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo are one of the largest refugee groups in the US. However, there is limited research with this group. This study examines obesity and hypertension rates, diet and lifestyle behavior changes, and social factors that impact obesity and hypertension risk of Congolese refugees in the US. Implications for practitioners and/or researchers are discussed.

Reframing the refugee crisis: from rescue to interconnection
Published in Ethics & Global Politics (2020)

The author points out that we should not frame the debate about helping refugees in terms of a duty to rescue. This framing of the issue, where Western states are depicted as rescuing refugees from harm, does not adequately represent the reality experienced by refugees in the 21st century.

Understanding the health and housing experiences of refugees and other migrant populations experiencing homelessness or vulnerable housing: a systematic review using GRADE-CERQual
Published in the CMAJ Open (2021)

The objective of the study was to understand the enablers and barriers to access fundamental health and social services for migrants in precarious housing situations. The study made recommendation to public health leaders on developing outreach programs that address access and discrimination.

COVID-19 and migrant and refugee health: A pointer to system competence in future pandemic preparedness
Published in eClinical Medicine (2021)

The Lancet Migration calls for migrants and refugees to be urgently included in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Comparing the Health and Welfare of Refugees and Non-Refugees at the Outset of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Results of a Community Needs Assessment
Published in Journal of Refugee and Global Health (2021)

The study presents the results of a community needs assessment which investigated the impact of the pandemic on health and welfare in a refugee relocation community in the United States. The findings highlight the greater health risks that refugees face than their non refugee counterparts and raise concerns about the possibility that they may be at elevated risk of negative health outcomes due to the pandemic and subsequent social and economic restrictions.

Knowledge and Awareness of Vitamin D Among Pregnant or Lactating Iraqi Refugee Women: a Call for Different Approaches in Health Education and Outreach
Published in Journal of Refugee and Global Health (2022)

Vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy and lactation has negative impacts on maternal, fetal, and infant health. Low health literacy and other social determinants of health may increase the risk of deficiency among refugee women. This qualitative study used a survey and in-depth individual interviews to examine knowledge of vitamin D among ten pregnant or breastfeeding Iraqi refugee women in the United States, and sought participants’ recommendations on culture-centered and participatory health promotion strategies.