Genetic Testing Immigration and Family Reunification: Impact on Hispanic Familie

描述（由申请人提供）：本项目将解决使用基因检测作为美国家庭团聚移民程序的一部分的伦理，法律和社会影响。去年，以合法永久居民身份来到美国的移民中，约有三分之二是根据家庭团聚条款获得家庭担保的。根据该条款，担保人必须是美国公民或永久居民，向美国公民和移民服务局（USCIS）申请将其家庭成员（配偶，子女，父母或兄弟姐妹）带到美国。作为申请过程的一部分，担保人必须出示所谓的家庭关系证明。这通常是通过文件（例如出生证明）完成的。但当文件缺乏或不足，或怀疑有欺诈行为时，美国移民官员可能会建议进行DNA测试（亲子关系或兄弟姐妹测试），作为验证家庭关系的一种方式。在过去的几年里，DNA检测在移民程序中变得越来越频繁，但这种检测对移民、他们的家庭或社区可能产生的影响尚不清楚。本研究的目的是探讨DNA测试可能对墨西哥家庭产生的积极和消极影响，墨西哥家庭是去年进入美国的最大移民群体（14%），特别是测试结果如何影响家庭关系，社会适应性和心理健康。本研究的具体目的是通过对墨西哥家庭的访谈来(1)确定墨西哥移民家庭如何定义和理解他们彼此之间的家庭关系；(2)检查墨西哥移民家庭对使用基因检测来证明所谓的家庭关系作为移民家庭团聚过程的一部分的潜在影响（积极和消极）的看法。本研究的结论将用于(3)编写教育材料，包括(a)计划根据家庭团聚条款赞助家庭成员的移民的信息手册和(b)伦理“考虑要点”文件，向政策制定者、倡导者和移民社区通报研究结果及其对在家庭团聚中使用DNA测试的影响。家庭团聚政策的基础是这样一种理解，即移民家庭成员与其近亲团聚有助于他们的心理健康，从而促进美国的健康和福利。本研究将评估新基因技术对这一重要移民政策的潜在积极和消极影响。公共卫生相关性：我的最终职业目标是成为一名专注于基因技术在社会中的伦理、法律和社会影响的学术研究人员。在我作为移民的经历的支持下，我在这个提案中的特定研究目标是探索移民政策发展中法律和政策与基因科学的交集。本研究将考虑在家庭团聚移民程序中使用基因检测，并将探索在移民视角下基因检测对家庭定义和家庭关系构建的潜在影响。这个项目将培养我在社会科学和法律方面的研究和分析能力。通过这项培训经费进行的研究和写作将成为我博士论文的一部分，这将更广泛地考虑基因检测的使用如何影响移民家庭和社区的健康和社会结构。除了发展特定的研究技能和产生关于墨西哥移民在家庭团聚中使用基因检测的观点的知识体系外，这个项目还将帮助我为作为一名独立调查员的职业生涯做好准备，解决与基因科学有关的伦理和政策问题。我期望在一个可以继续与基因组学、移民和其他少数民族社区的需求和关注相关的政策相关研究的环境中获得博士后奖学金，并随后寻求一个教员职位，在那里我可以继续并进一步发展这项工作。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This project will address the ethical, legal and social implications of the use of genetic testing as part of US immigration procedures for family reunification. Last year, approximately two-thirds of immigrants who came to the US as legal permanent residents were family sponsored under the family reunification provision. Under this provision a sponsor, who must be a US citizen or permanent resident, petitions to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to bring his or her family members (spouse, children, parents or siblings) to the U. S. As part of the application process, the sponsor is required to show proof of alleged family relationships. This is typically done through documentation (e.g. birth certificates). But when documents are lacking or insufficient, or fraud is suspected, US immigration officials may suggest DNA testing (parentage or sibling testing) as a way to verify family relationships. In the past several years, DNA testing has become more frequent in immigration procedures, but the impact such testing may have on immigrants, their families or their communities, is not known. The objective of this study is to explore the positive and negative effects DNA testing may have on Mexican families, the largest immigrant group (14 percent) entering the US in the past year, particularly how test results might impact family relationships, social adaptability, and psychological well-being. The specific aims of the study are to use interviews with Mexican families to (1) Identify how Mexican immigrant families define and understand their familial ties to one another; and (2) Examine Mexican immigrant families' perceptions about the potential effects (positive and negative) of using genetic testing to prove alleged family relationships as part of the family reunification process in immigration. Endings from this research will be used to (3) Develop educational materials including (a) an informational brochure for immigrants planning to sponsor a family member under family re- unification provisions and (b) an ethical "points-to-consider" document to inform policy-makers, advocates and immigrant communities about findings of the study and their implications for the use of DNA testing in family re-unification Relevance to public health: Family reunification policies are based on the understanding that the reunion of immigrant family members with their close relatives supports their psychological well-being and in so doing promotes the health and welfare of the United States. This study will assess the implications of new genetic technology for its potential positive and negative effects on this important immigration policy. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: My ultimate career goal is to become an academic researcher focusing on the ethical, legal and social implications of genetic technologies in society. My particular research goal in this proposal, supported by my experiences as an immigrant, is to explore the intersection of law and policy with genetic science in the development of immigration policy. The proposed research will consider the use of genetic testing immigration procedures for family re-unification, and will explore the potential impact of genetic testing in the context of immigrant perspectives on how families are defined and family ties constructed. This project will enable me to develop research and analytical skills in social science and law. Research and writing done through this training grant will be part of my doctoral dissertation, which will more broadly consider how the use of genetic testing influences the health and social structure of immigrant families and communities. In addition to developing specific research skills and producing a body of knowledge about Mexican immigrant perspectives on the use of genetic testing in family re-unification, this project will help to prepare me for a career as an independent investigator addressing ethical and policy questions relating to genetic science,' After completion of my PhD, 1 anticipate pursuing a post-doctoral fellowship in a setting where I can continue policy-relevant research related to genomics and the needs and concerns of immigrant and other minority communities, and subsequently seeking a faculty position where 1 can continue and further develop this work.