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Somalis in the Twin Cities and Columbus: Immigrant Incorporation in New Destinations

by Stefanie Chambers

Temple University Press, 2017

ISBNs

Paper: 978-1-4399-1442-7

eISBN: 978-1-4399-1443-4

Cloth: 978-1-4399-1441-0

About the Book

In the early 1990s, Somali refugees arrived in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. Later in the decade, an additional influx of immigrants arrived in a second destination of Columbus, Ohio. These refugees found low-skill jobs in warehouses and food processing plants and struggled as social “outsiders,” often facing discrimination based on their religious traditions, dress, and misconceptions that they are terrorists. The immigrant youth also lacked access to quality educational opportunities.


In Somalis in the Twin Cities and Columbus, Stefanie Chambers provides a cogent analysis of these refugees in Midwestern cities where new immigrant communities are growing. Her comparative study uses qualitative and quantitative data to assess the political, economic, and social variations between these urban areas. Chambers examines how culture and history influenced the incorporation of Somali immigrants in the U.S., and recommends policy changes that can advance rather than impede incorporation. 


Her robust investigation provides a better understanding of the reasons these refugees establish roots in these areas, as well as how these resettled immigrants struggle to thrive.


About the Author

Stefanie Chambers is Charles A. Dana Research Associate Professor of Political Science at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. She is the author of Mayors and Schools: Minority Voices and Democratic Tensions in Urban Education (Temple).

Tags
Minnesota, Social integration, Columbus, Columbus (Ohio), Somalis, Saint Paul, Saint Paul (Minn.), Twin Cities, Somali Americans, Immigrants, Emigration & Immigration, Ethnic relations, Public Policy, Social conditions, Political Science, Social Science
Open Access Information

License: CC BY-NC-ND