I enjoyed hearing Asad L. Asad speak, and I’m glad that I had the opportunity to learn more about the advantages and disadvantages of “legal” status for immigrants. I was most impressed by the process of the whole study and the time spent talking to individual families. I was surprised to hear that people opened up so easily. I’m fairly paranoid, and my mom is always telling us stories about home invaders that ring doorbells and barge into houses. So, I definitely wouldn’t let a stranger inside, no matter how carefully cultivated their image, let alone tell them my life story. But I’m glad that trust payed off.

The talk by Asad L. Asad was very interesting, especially as someone with parents who immigrated to the U.S. While my mother came into the countries with papers by association with family in the U.S., my dad had to endure the much longer process of becoming a citizen. Asad gave a very compelling argument about the way that legal status is perceived by undocumented immigrants. Instead of pursuing legal status, the different dynamics in this country make being of legal status (but not a citizen), can have similar risks to being undocumented. Having conducted his study in Texas, the places that Asad went to conduct his interviews were largely neighborhoods that had a majority Latino population. One of the questions that I had related to the talk was if this view on legal status would change if the people interviewed lived in neighborhoods where they were vastly outnumbered. Instead of being surrounded by people  that share similar experiences, it would create a different atmosphere. I look forward to reading Asad’s book about the topic because of how relevant it is in the current political climate.

I find that surprisingly, Asad managed to speak about deep, taboo issues with immigrants because they trusted him. Asad attributed it to his one dimple on his left side of the cheek, which I thought was hilarious but surprisingly, logical. Even though there’s the saying “don’t judge a book by its cover” I think that humans still do it constantly, consciously or unconsciously. Asad talked about the contrast a social agent’s attire and his attire. One dresses in professional wear, with suit and tie. While Asad dresses in casual: khakis and a clean shirt. The only thing in common was the clipboard they brought, their mission is the same: to collect intel on the immigrants, Asad managed to get warm welcomes and even managed to become a friend in one situation. This goes to show that first impressions do matter, we constantly do judge people by their cover.

The talk that Asad L. Asad gave on documenting those who are undocumented was really eye-opening. One thing I found quite interesting was the way families would open up to him almost immediately. We always hear how first impressions are the most important because they shape how someone views you in your future interactions. Moreover, first impressions can be used to determine how much someone will trust you. This held especially true in Asad’s work. In the talk, he described how much thought went into trying to appear casual without being too casual, legitimate and professional without seeming too authoritative. It was a delicate balance he described, and with the balance, he found he was able to win over the trust of those he was interviewing fairly quickly. Not only his appearance helped with this, but his ability to speak Spanish was an important connection between him and those he was interviewing as well. Another aspect of Asad’s talk that struck me was how we should change how we talk about those who are undocumented. It should reflect the people as people rather than an abstract concept that we can other. Their documentation status is part of their life, it is not their entire life.

The Rose cafe event with Asad L. Asad proved to be especially inspiring for a number of reasons. Hearing Asad talk about immigrants helped defy a number of deep-rooted stereotypes that have become ingrained in the way we think about immigrants. Often times these immigrants have lived more than half their lives in the United States in the fear of deportation. Asad made the conversation a bit lighthearted as he discussed how one of the families he interviewed had a woman tell him she has experienced menopause in the United States. The part of the conversation that especially stood out to me was when Asad discussed how many of these immigrants display an act of resistance and resilience every day simply to carry on living their lives. Furthermore, the trust these people put in him and the way in which they shared their truth with them was something that I found to be really heart touching. I really appreciated and was grateful that Asad shared his background growing up in an immigrant family with us, and to look at how far he has come with his accomplishments was truly inspiring. This is something that really stood out to me becase I also come from an immigrant family, and I can imagine how debilitating living a life in the fear of deportation can be.

Additionally, my definition of research had always been extremely limited to a given number of fields; however, hearing Asad talk about his research in immigration and immigration policy exposed me to a whole new area of research that is directly impacting millions of lives around America. This really has allowed me to broaden the research experiences I seek and has helped me redefine what it means to conduct research. 

This Rose Café was a great talk into immigration and what those who are illegal immigrants really feel. We have this idea in our heads that they are all scared and hiding, while most live normally day to day and can go years without being confronted with there position. The speaker was very engaging, and he was also knowledgeable. He spoke about the little things that make people open up, and how to relate to people, which are always useful skills.

Coming from an immigrant background, I have personal experiences with immigration and biases. However, I only have insight on what my family personally experienced, and I was curious as to how other immigrants had experienced their immigration. This was the reason why I attended the talk. After attending Asad’s talk, I gained more insight on immigration policy and what the reality like is for real immigrants around the country. His statement about immigrants’ stance on a new presidential era really resonated with me because I had always thought similarly. All in all, I think it was one of the most insightful and thought-provoking talks I had gone to during my time as a Rose Scholar.

Asad L. Asad’s talk was my first Rose Cafe, and I can say that I’m genuinely glad that I went. I’m sad to say that I don’t remember a lot of the content that resonated with me, but now I know that should I attend a talk, lecture, or seminar again that I should bring a pen. Lesson learned…

I did retain some information, however. For instance, in an effort to avoid deportation, non-citizen, immigrant populations opt out of the census, as a result, their communities go underfunded and underrepresented in Congress. This is important to know because should the 2020 census change to ask about immigration status, we’re likely to see even more reluctance to respond to the census. The result will be an even larger population of “invisible” immigrants and, consequently, even greater underfunding. The following link talks a bit about this: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/27/us/census-undocumented-immigrants.html.

I also recall a conversation about barriers to citizenship. Asad talked about how some families’ naturalization can be a decades-long process. They also talked about how the fear of deportation, even for those eligible for citizenship, disincentivizes naturalization. I could go on, but if you’re interested, consider checking out their work. If I heard correctly, they have a new book coming out soon.

I think it’s really important for supporters of immigrant rights to equip themselves with the data, facts, etc. to do so, so even if you feel ideologically-aligned with speakers, consider attending these kinds of events to strengthen your advocacy for the groups you support. Overall, I’m grateful for the talk because now I’m better informed and so my advocacy will be better.

Last Wednesday, Asad Asad came over to speak with us about his study and research on immigrants. He had originally started studying why Hispanics chose to move to specific areas in a neighborhood in Texas, but as he continued listening to families and their stories, he decided to change his area of study completely. Quite a few families had immediately opened up to him about how they were undocumented and the struggles that they faced because of that challenge, and this led him to focus on immigrants and the constant fear that they face every day. He spoke at length about the progress of his different families by the time the study was over, as some had ended up being deported, others maintained documentation, and still, others remained as undocumented immigrants. I was quite surprised that he was able to get so many families to reveal their status to them, as they would clearly be vulnerable after doing so. Asad, during his talk, also revealed how if this upcoming census has the citizenship question on it, then there would be a loss of participation as people would have fear to participate, leaving those who are studying undocumented immigration with less available data for their studies.

On Wednesday, after house dinner, a few Rose Residents gathered to learn more about Immigrants through the works of Asad Asad. Asad is a currently working at the Cornell Center for the Study of Inequality, and researches the lives of immigrants. Immigration and immigrants are a huge topic of conversation in the current political climate, however, not many people know exactly what they are talking about. Asad took us through his research following 36 immigrant families and their struggles of assimilating to America. His research was eye opening for me as well, a child of immigrant parents. He highlighted that these immigrants, even though some were undocumented, did not live in a life of fear, instead it was a life of resilience. A life where they knew  and did what was needed to be done to help their families, back home and in America. Asad also hinted at his next project, which will document the similarities between racial profiling muslims and latinos.

For this Rose Talk, we got the opportunity to hear from sociologist Asad Asad, who conducted research on over thirty immigrant families in Texas. His research centered on the process of deportation and integration in American society. What surprised me most about his research was how willing some people were to participate in his study. Observational studies that involve subject interviews can be difficult, as many people may be reluctant to participate (Asad attributed his success in this aspect to his dimple that made him look friendly), especially in the case of immigration status. We also discussed the new upcoming census, and how the inclusion of immigration status may skew numbers and result in political shifts.

Over a five year duration, Sociologist Asad Asad interviewed over thirty immigrant families with young children of Dallas, Texas and analyzed their views of deportation and their integration in American society. What I found most shocking about Asad’s talk is when he explained that the families seemed to have no problem or hesitation with telling him that they were undocumented immigrants. To Asad, it appeared that they were not as afraid of their legal status as he would have expected. In the news, we continually hear of the atrocities those who are undocumented in our country experience, especially under this presidential administration. One of Asad’s points, however, is that not every person who is undocumented is wrapped up in the justice system- many, as do these families of Dallas, seem to live relatively normal lives. I thought this was very interesting for Asad to point out and important to talk about; however, I think it should be ensured that discussions such as these do not diminish the extremely difficult hardships and trauma that people living in this country undocumented face.