Understanding the Undocumented Immigrant Experience

This educational webinar was developed by the Undocu GC Network and was generously funded by the Florida Association of Genetic Counselors. We encourage active engagement and the application of the knowledge presented here, with the goal of promoting a more inclusive and equitable genetic counseling practice. We hope that you find the content engaging and insightful.

To obtain CEU's, please fill out the following Google form. We will email you with instructions on how to pay for CEU's. 

 Learning Activity (Guiding questions and role-play scenario)

Beyond watching the recording, we encourage everyone to take some time to discuss and think about the guiding questions below.

Role play: 

Engage in the following activity for 15-20 minutes.
Misha is a 30-year-old woman who is 12 weeks pregnant. She was referred to a virtual genetic counseling appointment due to a family history of premature ovarian insufficiency, intellectual disability in multiple male relatives, and tremors. You gather her family history and find that she is the only person out of her immediate and distant family who is in the United States. During the options discourse with her she shares that she is unable to travel to the hospital at this time, she is hesitant to say why. After a period of time she discloses that she is afraid of deportation due to her immigration status and that she would likely not follow up with testing because of her fear and financial reasons. With a partner, role play how you would engage with the patient after she discloses her current immigration status and concerns. Use the questions below to guide your discussion. 

This Webinar was Developed by

Stefania Alastre, MSPH, LCGC s a bilingual genetic counselor at Moffitt Cancer Center. She is a previous DACA recipient and is particularly interested in improving access to genetic services for minority and underrepresented communities. 

Daniela Diaz Caro, MS, CGC  is a bilingual research genetic counselor at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. She is a previous DACA recipient and has an interest in working to expand access to genetic counseling services in Latin America and marginalized communities in the United States. 

Daisy Hernandez, MS, LCGC  is a bilingual cancer and research genetic counselor at Los Angeles General Medical Center, a safety-net hospital in Los Angeles, California. She works primarily with underserved Latine Spanish-speaking patient populations, recent immigrants, and undocumented patients. She grew up in a mixed-status household and was also born at Los Angeles General Medical Center so she has a lived experience of the barriers to care that individuals from mixed-status families may face.

Alicia Lewis, BA  is a prospective genetic counseling student, current Master of Health Administration Student and Senior Clinical Research Coordinator at Columbia University Medical Center. 

Stephanie Soto, BS is a second-year genetic counseling student at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. She aims to understand how environmental injustices can contribute to disparities in health status across populations and increase access to genetic counseling resources for underrepresented communities. 

Jean Yasis, BS  is a first-year genetic counseling student and genetic counseling assistant at University of California San Francisco. She is a current DACA recipient, and she contributes towards community engagement to expand the reach of genetics for minority groups.

Additional Resources

These resources are provided to help you explore the undocumented immigrant experience. They may not specifically center on healthcare or genetic counseling aspects.

Terminology

Books

Movies and TV Series

Resources for Genetic Counselors 

Resources for Patients

To find additional resources please see "patient resources" under our resource tab. 

For questions, concerns, or suggestions please email us at undocugc@gmail.com