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Cambodian Refugee Families in the Shadows of Welfare Reform

Provisions in the 1996 Federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, commonly known as welfare reform, sought to limit refugees and other legal immigrants’ access to government services and assistance. Although the 1997 Balanced Budget Act restored some benefits to those who arrived before the law was passed, little is known about how refugee families navigated the new welfare system. A case in point is Cambodian refugee families who have struggled on the economic margins since their arrival to the United States in the 1980s. Based upon a longitudinal, qualitative study conducted from 1998 to 2007 in Los Angeles County, this article discusses the experiences of Cambodian first and 1.5 generation refugee women and their families as they negotiated shifts in social welfare policy. This article illustrates the long-term consequences of welfare reform and the federal governments’ retreat from humanitarian goals set forth in the Refugee Act of 1980.