Internationally Displaced Families, Citizenry, and Cash Transfers

Background and Purpose: Displaced families who arrive in the U.S. through the refugee and humanitarian parole programs experience structural violence through resettlement into poverty in a xenophobic context that devalues their skills and experience. This is complicated by the historical role of U.S. imperialism and warfare in creating humanitarian refugee crises and causing displacement. This project sought to explore the interplay of guaranteed income (GI), income volatility, and income inequality as experienced by internationally displaced families in

the International Institute of Minnesota’s pilot GI program.

Methods: 25 families participated in the International Institute’s 12-month guaranteed income pilot for internationally displaced families, each receiving $750 per month in cash transfers. All families were invited to participate in longitudinal, semi-structured interviews throughout the program. Individuals from 19 families participated in at least one interview, each lasting one to two hours. Professional interpreters were used when the participant and interviewer did not share a language. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed, and reflective memos were completed after each interview. Transcripts and memos were coded inductively, and codes were collapsed into themes. An iterative process of member checking emerging themes with participants in final rounds of interviews is established.

Results: Themes from this work were manifold. Salient themes include:

Mitigation of crises:

Participants relied on GI funds to avoid late payments or eviction during times of crisis, including medical emergencies, periods of unemployment, and unexpected costs like car repairs.

Increased agency: With complete discretion on how to spend funds, the GI program created space for families to exercise more agency, such as through selecting their own furniture for their home, purchasing a car for greater freedom of movement, purchasing supplies to celebrate a holiday, and allowing more time for job searching or studying.

Importance of community support network: The families who were able to transition smoothly out of the program had a network of supportive people in their community who helped the families access sustainable resources and navigate structural barriers.

Conclusions and Implications:

This pilot study highlighted implementation and program implications for future GI programs for internationally displaced families. For most families, 12 months of GI was not enough to lay the groundwork for sustainably making ends meet after the program, causing significant distress for families as funding ended. Many families ran into programmatic barriers including issues accessing funds, replacing a lost card, or understanding how much time remained in the program. Some participants requested assistance in navigating systems, accessing resources, and financial planning. While all participants enthusiastically endorsed the helpfulness of the GI pilot program during their resettlement, future GI programs for refugees may improve participants’ program experiences through providing a longer period of support, maintaining contact with families using clear, regular, and accessible program communication and troubleshooting, as well as offering support related to financial planning, resource navigation, and building up social networks throughout the program in preparation for program completion.