Best Practices for Community-Engaged Research: Navigating Trust and Resistance in Challenging Sociopolitical Contexts

The recent shift in United States immigration policies has led to heightened enforcement measures, expedited deportations, and increased surveillance of migrant communities. These policies have exacerbated fear and distrust among migrant populations, particularly undocumented individuals, and have negatively impacted their well-being and willingness to engage in research. This methodological article synthesizes ethical challenges, safety concerns, and field-informed strategies for conducting qualitative, community-engaged research with migrant populations during periods of heightened immigration enforcement. It highlights approaches that ensure ethical engagement, build trust, and safeguard participants while advancing intersectional and policy-oriented research to improve health. Drawing on the authors’ collective experience across multiple community-engaged qualitative projects (including HIV prevention, human trafficking, and violence research) conducted in the United States and informed by parallel work in Canada and Mexico, this methodological article proposes three strategies for ethical research in restrictive immigration climates: (1) building trust through community engagement and partnerships with nonprofits, advocacy groups, and faith-based organizations; (2) prioritizing safety and confidentiality by implementing secure data practices, pivoting research when necessary, and reducing dependency on the collection of identifiable information; and (3) employing intersectional and policy-oriented analysis to address the compounded vulnerabilities migrants face. In times that challenge the well-being of migrant communities and create barriers to public health research, a strong commitment to ethical engagement, safety, and advocacy is needed. Scholars can contribute to knowledge production that centers on migrants’ voices and advances social and physical well-being by forging meaningful partnerships, ensuring participant protection, and leveraging research for policy transformation.