Exploring Integration Issues for African Youth of Refugee Backgrounds in Utah

Abstract

Utah is one of the principal destinations for refugee resettlement in
the United States. Despite the relatively frequent coverage of refugee
stories in local news media, very little in the way of scholarly research
has been written about these refugeesí integration and acculturation.
Moreover, no research has yet dealt with the issues facing the youth
of these refugee communities. In order to remedy this lack of know-
ledge about an important component of the populace in the state of
Utah, this article uses an ethnographic approach to explore issues
of integration and acculturation among African refugee youth. In
addition to providing the aforementioned useful data on the status
of immigration processes in Utah, it also contributes to the much-
publicized international debate surrounding the integration of
asylum-seekers from lower- and middle-income countries.