San Juanita Garcia, Tómas R. Jiménez, Seth M.Holmes, Irena Kogan, Anders Vassenden, Lawrence Yang, Min Zhou
Migration, Stigma, and Lived Experiences: A Conceptual Framework for Centering Lived Experiences

This chapter explores the lived experiences of immigrants, the stigma processes they confront, and the response mechanisms that they use to counteract and challenge stigma. It introduces a multilevel conceptual framework to further understanding of the lived experience of and resistance to stigma among immigrant groups. Drawing heavily on migration studies, which often highlight lived experiences of stigma without referencing the concept by name, it is argued that the stigma concept can enrich our understanding of immigrants’ lived experiences. The stigma literature provides abundant examples of how members of diverse and minoritized groups experience stigmatization and the consequences this creates for people’s life chances (e.g., mental health, physical health, education, employment, housing segregation). A typology is created to highlight how immigrants become aware of, respond to, and affect stigmatization. This typology is then incorporated into macro and meso frameworks to emphasize the multiple forces that act upon stigma among immigrant groups. Focusing on immigrants’ lived experiences enables us to understand how immigrants confront and challenge stigma.