Traumatized undocumented immigrant women asking for help: an act of resiliency

Abstract

Resiliency is defined as ‘rebounding’ and ‘possessing power of quick recovery.’ The goal of this article is to learn how undocumented immigrant women and their families remain resilient by adopting strategies to survive and thrive despite obstacles that deny legal residence in the United States of America. The participants, who were enrolled in an English as a Second Language (ESL) program offered by a shelter were the subjects of in-depth interviews. A narrative analysis of the qualitative data discovered immigrant women’s strategies surviving and thriving, and therefore remaining resilient includes the act of seeking assistance from each other and from agencies. Furthermore, survival does not completely depend upon food and shelter, but also upon a sense of well-being. Additional insight: female undocumented immigrants not only deal with issues unique to their gender but possess greater resiliency than male counterparts in their seeking of assistance that their male counterparts might reject. In conclusion, the Hispanic undocumented immigrant displays remarkable resiliency despite tremendous obstacles and personal difficulties.