Examining Avoidance,Victimization Risk,and Perceptions of Community Safety in Latinx Communities

Avoidance in Response to Victimization

Avoidance strategies have previously been measured as “the extent to which the individual actually avoided other people and places because of the threat of crime” (Norris & Kaniasty, 1994, p. 114), and can be borne from experiencing victimization or trauma. Particularly when victimization is experienced early on, mental health can be adversely impacted in formative years, which can lead to negative outcomes such as avoidance coping or withdrawal from healthy social activities (Reisig et al., 2018). While an individual might feel protected from negative stressors at a particular moment, avoidance strategies do not address underlying traumas (Newman et al., 2011). Some work also suggests that vicarious trauma may lead to some populations becoming wary of the potential risks of harm. For example, LGBT+ communities who heard about bias and hate crime victimization felt related trauma due to their shared identity (Lannert, 2015).

In response to similar threats, research shows that Latinx populations avoid routine activities important to the daily lives of individuals and families (Bailliard, 2013). Bernstein et al. (2019) established that these avoidance actions extend to formal authorities and other interactions occurring in public places. One out of six Latinxs with US citizenship avoid contact with police, health care providers, educators, and other service-providing bureaucracies (Pedraza et al., 2017). To provide perspective, nearly 1 in 33 white Americans reported avoidance of healthcare services due to fear of discrimination according to a recent survey (Todd, 2017a, 2017b). Of particular concern is avoidance of crime reporting. Theodore (2013) documented that 44% of Latinx respondents and 70% of undocumented respondents are less likely to notify law enforcement if they have been a victim of because they fear that police officers will use this interaction as an opportunity to inquire into their immigration status or that of people they know.

A myriad of factors impact avoidance behaviors amongst Latinx communities, including fears around victimization and bias, documentation status and state involvement, loss of employment, and surveillance (Asad, 2020; Bailliard, 2013; Brayne, 2014; Theodore, 2013). Rather than these issues operating in isolation, however, the multilayered interaction of these factors provides a more nuanced and complete explanation of why Latinx individuals are avoiding. Compounding fear and avoidance actions create a vicious cycle and impact broader community functioning.

Avoidance and Community Safety

Research on system avoidance has examined how prior criminal-justice involvement can impact future relationships with important institutions (Brayne, 2014; Goffman, 2009), which in turn impacts individuals, families, and communities (Fong, 2019; Lageson, 2016). This work, which examines the role of system avoidance in the lives of socially and legally marginalized people and groups with system involvement, shows that fear of being tracked by institutions that keep formal records (e.g., surveilling institutions) disrupts relationships with institutions like family, school, and work (Brayne, 2014; Goffman, 2009).

This is particularly important for broader community safety because surveilling institutions serve as pathways to social integration, economic mobility, and social support (Wellman & Wortley, 1990). These patterns can limit full social participation among vulnerable groups, hinder integration into mainstream society, and compound the impacts of disadvantage (Brayne, 2014). Criminological theory highlights the importance of social bonds to legitimate institutions in the prevention of criminal behavior (Sampson et al., 1997). Developmental theorists and life course criminologists have examined how social bonds to institutions such as family, work, romantic relationships, and community participation can decrease the likelihood of criminal behavior or serve as turning points for criminal desistance (Laub & Sampson, 1993).

Studies suggest that the same consequences of avoidance on broader social well-being and safety may apply to immigrant and undocumented Latinx communities (Asad, 2020; Brayne, 2014; Desai et al., 2020). These communities can become detached from mainstream institutions essential for personal and community well-being which has social, economic, and intergenerational consequences (Desai et al., 2020). As Menjívar and Abrego (2012) suggest, punitive policies can bring about “progressive exclusions. . .from ‘normal’ spaces and societal institutions” (p. 1391). While previous studies focus specifically on immigrant communities, current anti-Latinx sentiment creates vulnerabilities for all Latinx members, regardless of immigration status. When members of the Latinx community are afraid to participate in routine activities and engage with formal institutions, this threatens access to opportunities such as jobs, steady income, medical services, and social connections. This impacts all community members, beyond just Latinx groups, “who benefit from residents having their basic needs met, being able to work, and reporting crimes to support public safety” (Bernstein et al., 2019, p. 12).

Relatedly, social isolation that results from avoidance strategies may hinder social ties, acquaintanceships, and community cohesion. Kinships among community members can promote feelings of trust, interpersonal obligation, and reciprocity; these are important elements of collective efficacy and informal social control of crime (Sampson et al., 1997, 2005). Conversely, fear amongst Latinx communities and avoidance of formal institutions may also foster a sense of community and support, as well as social solidarity (Acuna-Rivera, 2009). One perspective amongst scholars examining immigrant communities and crime prevention is the revitalization perspective. This perspective holds that immigrant or Latinx concentrations protect communities from crime by strengthening informal social networks, social support, and family/friend ties (Sabina et al., 2012). A recent quantitative study by Feldmeyer et al. (2019) found that the association between immigration and neighborhood violence was quite complex and worked in competing ways, with immigrant concentration linked to lower levels of collective efficacy while simultaneously linked to stronger friendship and kinship networks.

Latinx community members also avoid the police for a myriad of reasons, including fear of deportation among immigrants, perception of unjust/biased policing, or lack of faith or trust that the police will adequately solve crime in their communities. Recent political emphasis and police involvement in immigration enforcement have intensified mistrust of law enforcement, contributed to the social isolation of Latinx persons, and undermined community safety (Stepick et al., 2013). Lack of trust and avoidance of police can subsequently undermine other community organizations, which play an important role in social and community well-being (Williams, 2015).

Much of what is known about how avoidance impacts community safety comes from the literature on hate crimes (Iganski & Lagou, 2009). Several studies examining the impact of hate crimes on community functioning confirm that avoidance strategies can inhibit social and interpersonal interactions among community members, in turn undermining social support (Noelle, 2009). Studies highlight how hate crimes can drive communities apart, force members to operate in isolation, instill fear of victimization among community members, and leave members powerless to advocate for their needs (DeKeseredy & Perry, 2006; Perry & Alvi, 2012). Consequently, targeted communities may practice avoidance, allowing bias victimization to persist and making communities less safe (Perry & Alvi, 2012).

While previous research has demonstrated avoidance in Latinx communities, less is known about how avoidance actions impact the overall well-being and safety of communities. Of particular importance is understanding the potential mechanisms through which avoidance actions may exacerbate fear, undermine community safety, and reduce the efficacy of communities and institutions.

Data Collection

Study participants were initially recruited to participate in a victimization survey about Latinx experiences across three major metropolitan areas of the United States: the greater San Diego metro area, Southern Texas (Galveston and Houston), and metro Boston. Original recruitment for the victimization survey occurred through several approaches, including partnerships with community agencies established in each study site that served the Latinx community or had a large percentage of Latinx members that made use of their services, which allowed the research team to recruit through individuals connected to the agency. Additionally, recruitment also took place through Latinx-focused events in the community, such as cultural festivals (e.g., Puerto Rican festival). Original data collection began in the Fall of 2018, and all respondents were asked if they were willing to participate in the study again a year later, as well as whether they were willing to participate in a more in-depth, in-person interview. Participants were recruited for qualitative interviews if they indicated they experienced any form of victimization, including either a bias-motivated victimization or a non-bias general lifetime victimization, and if they consented to be contacted for an interview in the original survey. Interviews were conducted in person and lasted between 30 minutes to an hour.

Interviews with victims were transcribed, and interview text was uploaded into QSR-NVivo12, a qualitative data analysis software package for coding, sorting, and analysis. Spanish Interviews were transcribed first in Spanish and then translated into English for analysis. Interview transcripts were coded in a systematic, iterative fashion using a grounded, content analysis approach. In the first phase of analysis, interview transcripts were open-coded, allowing patterns to emerge from the interview text. Because code identification requires judgments by researchers, efforts were taken to ensure the transparency and consistency of those judgments. A set of preliminary interviews was independently coded by two trained coders to ensure a stable coding structure. Inter-coder consistency tests were conducted throughout the first phase of coding to ensure consistency across coders, specifically that percent agreement across coders had to be 95% or above within interviews and across codes.

In the second phase, an axial or hierarchical coding structure was developed, organizing codes into emergent themes representing various components of our research questions and informed by existing scholarly literature (Corbin & Strauss, 2014). In this phase, the analysis filters and focuses the relevant features of the narrative data for theme generation and theory building (Saldaña, 2016). Investigators used axial coding to explore the relationships between codes, develop connections between emerging thematic codes and their subcodes, and specified the properties and dimensions of thematic codes. Thematic codes were tested within the data to identify negative cases and refine the boundaries of the thematic codes. Axial coding was a critical step in identifying the context, intervening conditions, and consequences of the victimization process. Themes were analyzed within and across each of the three study sites to ensure consistency of emerging themes.

Participants and Procedure

To understand avoidance amongst Latinx individuals who experience victimization and identify the mechanism through which avoidance impacts community safety, in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 53 respondents who reported victimization in the first wave of a community-based longitudinal study of victimization among Latinx communities in the U.S. Of the 910 participants, 342 experienced some form of victimization, which could include any of the 13 bias victimization experiences or the 21 lifetime victimization experiences presented in the initial victimization survey, and answered yes when asked if they would be willing to be interviewed in the future. Respondents who met both criteria were contacted for a face-to-face interview using the contact information that participants provided to the research team. Selection of in-depth interviews was purposeful to include participants from across all three study sites.

Interview questions were open-ended and lasted between 30 and 90 minutes. Because many of the researchers were Latinx-Americans themselves and had near-native fluency in Spanish, participants were able to select their preferred language (Spanish or English) for the interview. Interviews included questions about victim experiences with, and responses to, victimization and the potential roles of acculturation, ethnic identity, gender role, documentation status, and language on these experiences (see Supplemental Materials for interview structure). Interviews were recorded with respondent consent and respondents received compensation of $40 for providing their time during the interview.

The final sample of 53 participants spanned all three study sites: 18 from Boston, 20 from San Diego, and 15 from Houston. Participant ages ranged from 18 to 62 years of age; the average age of participants was 30 years old. The final sample consisted of 35 female participants and 18 male participants. Twenty-nine (29) of the interviews involved first-generation immigrants, with 13 of those participants undocumented. Overall, 11 participants experienced bias victimization, 9 experienced other non-biased victimization, and 31 experienced both non-bias and bias victimization (see Supplemental Materials). All the interviews, apart from one who did not consent to be recorded, were recorded for later transcription.

Avoidance Amongst Latinos: Reasons and Types of Avoidance

All the individuals we interviewed had victimization experience, and an overwhelming majority of the respondents (78%) explicitly described employing avoidance strategies such as withdrawing from public spaces, changing their behavior, or avoiding formal sources of help. Avoidance was described in 77% of interviews with men and 80% of interviews with women. Immigrant and non-immigrant respondents both noted the role that anti-immigrant or anti-Latinx sentiment in politics played in their decisions to avoid. As Nestór put it, “Number one. . . right now, the political climate there is, there is so much fear. I think that people even stop coming to health centers, never mind the deal with issues that are conflicts like, for example, if the landlord is abusing them.” Fear of discrimination or hostility was commonly described among interviewees.

The relationship between perceptions of living in a hostile environment and avoiding behaviors was expressed as fear of going out in public spaces. Fear was the most dominant theme for undocumented respondents; and, among those who expressed fear of being in public, reducing their time in public was commonly discussed. Claudia expressed this theme of fear and her family’s related avoidance behavior:

We’ve been avoiding going out as much as possible. We only go out near here. Going to Houston is not possible now, we’re afraid to do that. We have avoided going out many times. We can’t do it anymore. We just follow our routines. Work, home, church, the grocery shop. We didn’t go out with our kids out of fear.”

Interviewees stressed the importance of maintaining a strict routine that allowed for only meeting bare necessities. By staying out of view, interviewees thought they could reduce their chances of being met by people who would hassle or even victimize them. One describes this process as “build[ing] my little bubble at home. I am happy, and no one is going to mess with me in my house” (Paloma), but by doing so the participant also felt “isolated” and fearful of what others would think of her.

As anti-immigrant sentiment rose and policies promoting local immigration enforcement increased, accessing public spaces increasingly exposed people to negative interactions with those who may express anti-immigrant or anti-Latinx viewpoints. It also increased the risk of being detained or facing immigration enforcement procedures (ADL, 2022). As a result, respondents avoided unnecessary routines. As one participant Rogelio described,

A lot has changed and like a lot of people have to like stop doing things that we would like normally do. I know a lot of people had to stop working because of, they don’t have like documents and stuff and so it becomes harder for them to like do things like that without being like, possibly deported and things. Especially living in Texas where, like, they’re very against Latinos for some reason, even though that’s like, our land, so yeah.

It is seemingly inevitable that in such an environment, a sense of being “othered” and ostracized can set in. As Claudia described, “My husband and I are aware that this is not our country, it’s a borrowed one, and we only came here to work, to offer them our services.” The inability to participate openly in society caused many interviewees to retreat and engage in avoidance behaviors out of fear of their immediate environment, particularly because of personal identifying features associated with the Latinx community.

Language is one factor that makes Latinxs be perceived as “outsiders.” In 80% of all interviews, interviewees expressed some level of reflection upon language. Not being able to speak fluently in English, openly speaking Spanish in public, or being heard with a Spanish accent were described as markedly increasing participants’ risks of being insulted or attacked. The ability to communicate effectively was one of the most dominant themes connected to fear relating to immigration status, the risk of being verbally assaulted, and not seeking help if participants required it. Carla explained how speaking Spanish in public made her feel afraid:

Very afraid because I don’t know who is in favor of immigration. Every time we go out, I try not to speak Spanish or make sure no one hears me speaking Spanish. I try to speak in English as much as possible, or I simply move away from that group of people. Even though I know it’s prejudice, I move away from the people who look racist, which is silly because that’s being racist, but yes, I move away from, let’s say, White people.

When interviewees discussed specific fears, they identified that perpetrators could target them based on whether they spoke Spanish or English. Through discussions of language, it becomes clear that anti-Latinx sentiment is perceived by victims as also being related to the anti-immigration rhetoric. Speaking English instead of Spanish is a reactionary step to experiencing openly hostile threats. One woman described such an event,

I was walking through one of the subway tunnels with my boyfriend and we were speaking in Spanish. . . . There was this old guy that was walking down and he was like, what did he say? He yelled at me and told me to speak English or something like that, and told us to go back to our country, and. . . just like the thing that they all say. I remember feeling really off about that, I guess because I have been in a privileged position that I have never had that happen to me where I felt like someone screamed at me because I was speaking Spanish. I remember, honestly, it wasn’t until recently that I felt like okay speaking Spanish again on the subway when my mom called. After that, I was like I think I’m going to take a break from calling my mom on the subway and speaking to my boyfriend in Spanish. [Haydée]

To keep themselves and their families safe, participants reported that avoiding speaking in public also increased their feelings of vulnerability. Carla explained during her interview, “I have a lot of trouble teaching my daughter while I’m scared of speaking in Spanish in public, or telling my daughter to help defend other people while I’m unable to defend myself. It’s that kind of helplessness.”

Coming to America is an opportunity to leave environments filled with danger and feelings of helplessness. Yet roughly two-thirds of the respondents interviewed (66%) discussed feeling powerless to change their circumstances. They describe the feeling of not only living in fear but also being rejected while looking for safety as a newly arrived immigrant. An inability to speak English often heightens this sense of division. For instance, Mayra describes her friend’s experience,

I have a friend, but she left for Florida. She, too, lived as I lived, in fear. She was the third person that I met here. She knew that sometimes people say things to humiliate us, that sometimes you go to the store and because you don’t know how to speak English some people say words in English that are bad. She understood them more or less, and she always told me, “Look here, they said racist shit, and if they don’t know you here, they can do things to you.” She also lived with that fear. I said, “My God, I came from Honduras fleeing from a country,” and here it is not everyone. I say it is rare in people, but sometimes some comments are ugly and offend us. She also lived with that fear, with that, “I am an immigrant, and here for being an immigrant, my voice doesn’t count,” or things like that. My friend is in Florida now.

As participants navigated potential discrimination, they described the perception that some people have become emboldened to share more openly hostile feelings toward the Latinx community. In turn, they have had to be more cautious about the people they are around and who they interact with when they are in certain spaces. When Carla was asked about the current anti-immigrant political rhetoric and how it impacted her daily life, [she] explained that her community made her feel unsafe in the following ways:

A lot. I’m very scared, and I feel paralyzed. Where I live, there are a lot of extreme right-wing people, and just by seeing that they support Trump. Before, it used to be like, “Well, if I have to respect them, I can just let them pass,” but they invade my rights. I feel very intimidated. When some people simply look at me, I feel like they want to hit me, and I feel so scared that I freeze and I get the chills because I don’t know when they’re going to turn around and hit me or attack me. After all, their ways of expressing their opinions are very aggressive. The stickers on their cars, the way they talk– They turn over to look at us and point at us. Before, when you said, “Oh, it’s just that he’s racist,” it was considered an ugly thing, and now, “Are you racist?,” “Well, yes. So what? It is what it is.”

Living in a perceived hostile environment makes some respondents feel vulnerable and isolated from anyone outside of their immediate family or the Latinx community, even when they have not personally experienced physical or verbal assaults. In these situations, respondents described turning inward and engaging in avoidance behaviors to protect themselves from conflict or victimization. When seeking services, facing racist tirades or stereotypes can lead people to feel excluded and shunned from places they could find help. One participant described an instance where another accused him of being undocumented and “a wetback” while both were at a food bank. He noted: “It impacts me in the way that it hurts when I hear those comments; sometimes, I get a bit depressed, or I think of the injustice of it all. It is all so sudden. Bad comments affect me. . . Sometimes I think it’s better if I just stay here [at home]. It’s better. I’m fine at home.” [Mara].

Beyond the fear of hostility in public places, interviewees expressed concern about hostility in their workplace. Even if they reduce travel in their personal lives, going to work is essential. One woman described overcoming bias incidents she experienced at her workplace, “like a trauma, like a weight you carry that makes you think all these people are the same and think the same” [Augustina]. They engage in avoidance tactics as a response to emotional turmoil, but avoidance allows dangerous situations to continue. The same woman described her situation at work in more detail, where an American coworker would scream at and harass her and her colleagues at work about being “illegal.” Her manager did not pursue action after the reports. Since then, she’s taken the view that she’s better off avoiding conflict altogether.

Fear of formal authorities also left respondents vulnerable after victimization and bias crime experiences. Individuals going through trauma following victimization reported being fearful of reporting the situation or seeking help despite recognizing the dangers of the situation. As Camila discussed when asked about reporting discrimination experiences,

No, maybe out of fear I didn’t, and now I regret it, I should have. It was out of fear that I said, “I don’t want a problem, I have to stay like this, it doesn’t matter and all that, better not do anything.” I did not seek any help from a counselor, either. If I had looked for one, maybe it would have helped, but I didn’t think it was so convenient. Of course, I should have denounced the case. It looks simple now, but it’s also a little worrisome. People take advantage of the fact that they can abuse and mistreat and all that, and if I remain silent, that continues, there is no way to stop it. There were no complaints. I didn’t complain. I did nothing about it.

Recognizing the dangers of avoidance to individuals’ safety and well-being, we next explore the mechanisms through which these behaviors impact broader community functioning and safety.

Lack of Reliance on Police to Solve Community Problems

Generally, interviewees avoided formal authorities and identified previous negative experiences with law enforcement as a primary reason for this avoidance. While often tied with fear of being referred to immigration authorities, local interactions with police agencies were discussed as distinctly stressful due to discriminatory and harmful encounters. Many participants were ambivalent about calling the police, but more often, they believed they would not be of any assistance. This was particularly true when participants’ primary or only language was Spanish. Many felt that they would not be able to communicate effectively, be turned away if there was nobody who could speak Spanish, or be treated badly for not speaking English. One woman described an incident of witnessing what she believed was an assault of another woman in a community park and calling 911 for help:

As soon as you call 911 and ask for Spanish, you lose. They get so rude. . . It’s really weird to me. . .If I speak Spanish with the person and then–No more, no more. And it’s not because I want them to have bilingual people or people who can help us in any language, but I just want them to help us when we call 911, regardless of language. If someone speaks Chinese, or whatever that language is called, or if an Arabic woman calls to ask for help because her husband beat her, they won’t help her either. [Xiomara]

To avoid engagement with law enforcement out of fear of deportation, inability to communicate, and potential discriminatory events, participants have preemptively decided not to engage with police even if they were to need them in the future. Eighty percent of interviewees discussed the police, and rarely was the discussion positive. Florinda explained that social media and news accounts of police violence create fear of the police: “You know cause the Facebook, they show the videos of law enforcement doing bad things to the Mexican community, the black community, you know, how do, how do they want us to respect and feel safe, you know, you can’t even call them.” These sentiments demonstrate a distrust and fear of the police that can decrease the likelihood of community members reporting crimes, in line with previous research which has shown lower levels of formal reporting among Latinx individuals who have experienced bias victimization (Lockwood et al., 2022).

For the most part, participants expressed distrust in the police’s ability to solve community problems and threats. For instance, Marisol described hearing gunshots at night and “you call the cops and you make the report and it takes them a lot to come out here.” Other participants have similarly described hesitation in alerting police to community problems, like Selena, who expresses reasons for her hesitation: “Maybe if at some point I feel the need to call the police again because I need help, I think I would hesitate. I wouldn’t know if I should call or not because I wouldn’t be sure if they were going to come or not.”

Participants also feared being targeted or asked for documentation if they called the police. They explained that calling the police for assistance would require handing over formal identification that they do not have, and instead of being treated as victims, they would likely be treated as criminals. As Claudia expressed was asked whether she would call the police if necessary, “. . .We wouldn’t, because we don’t know if they’ll come and tell us, “Give me your documents.” No, we try to have as little communication possible with the police because it affects us.”

As a result, police may not be able to rely on neighbors or witnesses as a resource for solving crimes in the community, even more so when participants think of the police as “working closely with immigration.” This situation is described in detail by Dolores, who witnessed a verbal and physical altercation in her neighborhood but wanted to get involved as little as possible.

There were times where I would hear some neighbors, who were young boys born in the United States, arguing and hitting each other. I would feel the urge to talk to the police. . .Give me the number, but they are going to come to me and ask me about it, they want to come here. So, I decided not to talk to the police because I thought that they were going to come and ask me things. . . You get involved as little as you can.

While many Latinx members of the community avoid reporting issues altogether to avoid targeted discrimination, some acknowledged going through informal channels to report suspicious behavior. For example, some respondents said they talk to friends, family members, or community advocates about neighborhood problems or victimization experiences. When Rita is asked whether she has ever reported any incidents to official agencies, police, or any other place, besides sharing about them with her friends, she replies:

No, because that’s scary, too. Yes, I’ve spoken with people who work for the community, and they say to me, “If it ever happens to you again, call us.” As I was telling you, I know more people now. I know more people these days. They tell me, ”If someone says anything to you again, call us. Say something to us.”

This description by Rita ties together how avoidance of police by Latinx community members can undermine the ability of officers to carry out their duties in the community. First, individual avoidance of police for victimization experiences extends to the community; individuals avoid calling or reporting to the police for larger community disturbances, crimes, and suspicious activities. Second, fear of police may result in Latinx community members’ avoidance of talking to police or giving out information that may help solve problems for fear of being targeted. Third, Latinx communities may sidestep police as a mechanism for solving problems altogether and instead rely on more informal sources such as friends, family, and other members of the community.

Lack of Community Engagement

Many interviewees described isolation from their community as a mechanism to avoid risk and keep safe from discrimination, deportation, and/or victimization. It is important to note that participants perceive that self-isolation and lack of community engagement are increasing due to anti-Latinx sentiment and the political climate. This creates a sense that individuals are safer when remaining at home than interacting in their communities. Specifically, 56% of interviewees reported socially isolating themselves, interacting less with their community, and avoiding going out to community activities because of increasing fear. Nearly 40% of the interviewees indicated that the political climate or political rhetoric has made them less involved in their community. Other respondents reported staying confined to their homes and avoiding community gatherings altogether; as Paloma described, she built her “own bubble at home.” Alexandra describes being less involved in her son’s school due to fears about discrimination and her immigration status. “Yes, even in school. I used to volunteer at my oldest son’s school. I can’t do it anymore with my younger kids because you need a California ID to enter the schools now.”

Participants described fears of participating in community programs such as food banks, while others did not feel comfortable with their children going to community parks or playing in the streets. Some participants also expressed general distrust toward others, including their neighbors. For example, one respondent explained how she could “write a book” about the discrimination and rejection she experienced from her neighbors. Another explained herself starting to question what others are thinking about her, “what will they say? What will they think?” For interviewees in this study, lack of engagement, exacerbated by fear of police, increased community insecurity and fear. While this study does not measure increases in crime, studies show a lack of collective efficacy and connection in communities can increase crime, creating further fears of going outside and interacting within community spaces (Burchfield & Silver, 2013; Hipp & Wo, 2015).

Strategies for Resilience and Safety

While the interviews highlight consequences of avoidance in the absence of trustworthy formal institutions, most interviewees (75%) described how they constructed their own networks for resilience and safety in their communities. For instance, some respondents explained that while they have been more isolated, they have also used these experiences to become more informed about the local resources that are available to them in their communities. Carla, when asked about her fear of the current political climate, explains: “It’s helped me isolate myself and interact less with people. However, it has helped me get more informed. I’m watching the news all the time, finding lawyers whom I could approach, and finding out what resources could help me in my community.” Similarly, Rita, who previously elaborated on her experiences relying on members and resources in her local community rather than the police, also explained how she’s learned to become informed on where to receive help. She states: “I didn’t know these places in the past. Today, I do know more, and that’s what we Latinos must do, learn about these places where we can get help.”

In line with this, 70% of the interviewees emphasized the importance of informal resources to navigate fear and avoidance in their communities. For instance, one woman who avoided formal employment due to fear of deportation explained how women in her community created a group that made and sold accessories among their friends and neighbors. Another participant emphasized the importance of attending local community meetings about crime, while another explained how women in her community formed carpool groups to help drive children to school if parents were unable to due to lack of documentation. Many have emphasized the strong bonds formed within their communities through church, which also keeps them informed on community matters. These networks can serve as a safety net for those in the Latinx communities who engage in avoidance of more formal institutions (e.g., law enforcement, social services) and essential daily activities (e.g., driving, working). An interview with Rita demonstrates this, who explains her hopes for creating a local group to help those in her community:

Until not long ago, I wanted to find a small place to give guidance to people. A lot of our people come here, and they don’t even know how to read or write. Just imagine. I help them fill out their money orders to pay for rent, or if they want to write to their insurance, I help them fill out things. I always said that one day, I will have a small place where people can find me, those who don’t know things, so that I can guide them. Also, it’s part of our culture, of many people’s culture, to lock themselves up out of fear.

This interviewee emphasizes the increase in avoidance amongst Latinx communities in response to fear of victimization and discrimination while recognizing the importance of local resources and members of the community to help navigate these risky spaces.