(Un)studied vulnerability: introducing UndocuCrit to critical disaster studies

What is it about?

Undocumented immigrants are often left out of disaster planning, which assumes everyone has legal citizenship status. This paper shows how that exclusion puts undocumented people at greater risk during natural hazards events. It utilizes a theoretical framework called Undocrit, which undocumented scholars created to explain how the fear of deportation, unstable legal status, and mistrust in the government affect their ability to access help. This paper argues that critical disaster research and policy must directly incorporate undocumented people's experiences to increase their efficacy.

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