The Experiences of Discrimination among Muslim Refugees in the Muslim Ban Era and Beyond

Overview: The U.S. Muslim Ban that took place in 2017 accelerated misunderstandings about Muslim refugees in the United States and resulted in discrimination against this population. In this session, the importance of understanding the impact of the discriminatory policy environment on the wellbeing of the Muslim refugees will be discussed.Proposal text:

Background: Due to brutal wars, conflicts, and human rights violations, millions of people have been displaced from their homelands. By the end of 2020, almost 82.4 million individuals were forcibly displaced worldwide (The UN Refugee Agency [UNHCR], 2021). While the numbers are at a record high, the international community does not sufficiently deliver the support displaced groups need. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights clearly states that every person has “the right to life, liberty and security of person” and to “seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution” (United Nations, 2019). During the Trump era; however, political rhetoric had an emphasis on how refugees, particularly the ones from the Muslim countries, would be the potential to be a threat to national security. Macro-level actions like the U.S. Muslim Ban that took place in 2017 accelerated misunderstandings about Muslim refugees in the United States and resulted in discrimination and xenophobia against this population. In this session, the presenters will emphasize the importance of understanding the impact of the discriminatory policy environment on the wellbeing of the Muslim refugees and make recommendations for social workers when working with this refugee group.

Methods: To discuss the experiences of discrimination against the Muslim refugee population after the Trump era, the presenters reviewed both academic and grey literature. The review focused on articles and reports published from January 2017 and January 2022. Peer-reviewed journal articles were searched through databases, including PsychINFO, Social Work Abstracts, Academic Search Complete, ProQuest, and Google Scholar.

Results: Given the intersectional characteristics of Muslim refugees, being a refugee and coming from a predominantly Muslim country, may heighten the risks of everyday discrimination against them. Discrimination against Muslim refugees is also gendered and affects Muslim women to a great extent since wearing a hijab is a visible identifier of Muslim women. Despite the anti-refugee discourse during the Trump era, reported experiences of discrimination among Muslim refugees are not high. The notions of “relative gratification” and “politeness imperative” were discussed as a potential reason for the low number of reported experiences. According to these notions, refugees may face discrimination, but they think that their quality of life is better off compared with those back home (Fozdar & Torezani, 2008). Thus, they may not openly report their negative experiences. Instead, they might develop a greater sense of appreciation for the country that accepted them.

Conclusions: The role of supportive governments is particularly important for groups who have been marginalized by the policies and political rhetoric. The lack of attention to the intersecting identities of the refugees results in overgeneralized practices that are not sensitive to cultural, religious, and ethnic diversity among refugee groups. As the Biden administration repealed Trump's Muslim Ban, there is a possibility for social workers to see more Muslim refugee clients in healthcare settings and social services. Social workers and students should be ready to respond to the needs of this increasing refugee group and understand the consequences of the discriminatory policies on the wellbeing of Muslim refugees.