After the Last Border:Two Families and the Story of Refuge in America

Complex trauma occurs as a result of multiple traumatic incidents, which can affect brain development in children and change thinking “on a neurological level” in adults (192). Goudeau explains that most refugees have experienced complex trauma and, as a result, can exhibit symptoms such as distrust of people, a sense of isolation, and intense guilt and shame in addition to rage, sadness, and depression. Mu Naw suffered from a sense of isolation and both she and Hasna were depressed.

The Immigration Act of 1924 limited the number of immigrants from each country to 2% “of the population of each of the countries represented in the US during the 1890 census” (98). Since 1890 preceded the large waves of immigration from Southern Europe, policymakers rigged the system to allow more people from northern Europe and to “almost completely” exclude “arrivals from Asia, South America, the Middle East—and of course the entire continent of Africa” (98). This law, consistent with an exclusive form of American identity, restricted access for most refugees in the world.

The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 overhauled the American system of immigration, ending the racially based quota system. It established refugee resettlement, merit-based acceptance policies, and family reunification as pillars of immigration policy.