Immigrants in COVID America, a project from the University of Minnesota’s Immigration History Research Center, documents the first six-month period of the pandemic in the U.S. – beginning with the January 30, 2020 World Health Organization declaration that the coronavirus outbreak was an international emergency – and focuses on four issues that have particularly affected immigrants, refugees, and asylees during the pandemic: immigration policy, health, labor & the economy, and anti-Asian xenophobia.

The project highlights fact-based research and reporting from reputable national media sources and think tanks supplemented by ethnic and local media. It also includes perspectives from experts, scholars, and political commentators and provide a summary analysis of emerging trends and issues. A variety of methods are used to identify sources, including Google news alerts and immigration-related newsletters and digests, such as Migratory Notes and ImmigrationProfBlog. Diverse perspectives and opinions – political and otherwise – are included whenever possible, especially when they highlight the trajectory behind certain policies and the experiences of immigrants and refugees themselves.

It also includes Stories from the Pandemic, a collaboration with the Sahan Journal (a nonprofit digital newsroom dedicated to providing authentic news reporting for and about immigrants and refugees in Minnesota) to create digital stories documenting the experiences of immigrants and refugees during the pandemic.