Field-Based Recommendations for Ethical Praxis in Refugee Health Research Amid Increased Surveillance, Securitization, and Distrust

This reflective memoir discusses methodological and ethical praxis for responsibly conducting research with migrant populations constructed as out-groups amid hostile socio-political climates. Drawing on fieldwork experiences from a health study conducted between Fall 2024 and Spring 2025, I reflect on navigating relationships and trust-building while working with Somali communities in two U.S. cities, Salt Lake City and Minneapolis, during a period of heightened surveillance, immigration enforcement, complex identity and displacement histories, and community vulnerability to fraud. By grounding recommendations in field experiences across different geographic regions in the U.S., I offer practical insights for researchers committed to ethical praxis with formally displaced, structurally vulnerable populations.