Research:

For my dissertation project, Liminality of Forced Displacement: Syrian Refugee and Immigrant Lives in the US, I focus on Syrians' legal and geographic migration pathways in shaping their experiences with the US immigration legal system. Syrians often find themselves living in limbo for months or years waiting on pending applications, have their asylum claims rejected, or find themselves in a temporary or uncertain legal status that places them in the "in-between" reality—not deported but unable to claim the rights of citizenship. Liminal legality is a legal status characterized by its ambiguity, as it is neither an undocumented status nor a documented one but may have the characteristics of both. The concept is typically used to describe the situation of immigrants in the US holding a Temporary Protected Status (TPS), but it also applies to those with pending asylum cases, given the temporal and uncertain elements of both statuses. My dissertation research offers directions for adopting a critical framework and theoretical lens for social work practice and research with displaced individuals, families, and communities who experience the "in-between" reality. I am currently building on my dissertation to prepare a book proposal on Syrian forced displacement, migration legal systems and social and economic integration, one of the most prominent policy discussions in social work practice and research.