“Every Crisis is a Time for opportunity”: Immigrant-Refugee Leadership Perspectives in the COVID-19 Era

ABSTRACT

The coronavirus pandemic has disproportionately affected immigrant and refugee communities, along with community-based ethnic organizations (CBEOs) serving these communities. Our study explored the impact of COVID-19 on immigrant and refugee communities and the CBEOs serving them by conducting in-depth interviews with CBEO leaders (N = 7). Six salient themes emerged: heightened organizational strain; COVID-19’s exacerbation of social issues; loss of community wealth; barriers to COVID-19 information; immigration policies, vulnerability, and structural barriers; and a path to better opportunities.

KEYWORDS:

• Community-based ethnic organization (CBEO)
• COVID-19
• immigrant and refugee organizations
• digital capital
• community capital

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).