Norah Khadraoui ’24
Norah Khadraoui ’24
- Majors: Sociology
- Minor: Legal Studies, Social Justice and Social Policy (SJSP) and Studio Art
- Accomplishments: Co-president of the Femmes of Color Alliance (FOCA) | URCC Peer Research Mentor 2023-24
Spotlight Interview
The responses have been edited for clarity and length.
URCC: Hi Norah, please tell us a bit about yourself.
NK: My name is Norah Khadraoui. I am a current senior majoring in Sociology and minoring in Legal Studies, Social Justice and Social Policy (SJSP), and Studio Art! I am co-president of the Femmes of Color Alliance (FOCA) and I love trying new food, painting, and reading new books.
URCC: What is your current research project?
NK: My research compares Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJ) and Asylum based on domestic violence to understand how childhood and victimhood are conveyed by the state. SIJ is a form of relief for minors who have been abused, neglected, or abandoned by one or both parents which provides a green card. SIJ is unique in that it operates first at the family court level and then in immigration court where it has a very high success rate. Asylum applicants based on domestic violence can experience similar abuse as SIJ applicants however asylum is much more of a discretionary status that is often unpredictable and unsuccessful. For SIJ, immigration judges are often consenting to applicants to receive SIJ status whereas for asylum immigration judges have full discretion. I aim to research how “childhood” and “victimhood” is constructed via these legal procedures and definitions and how immigration proceedings are shaped by these ideas of worthiness. When statuses are discretionary, the burden is placed on the migrant to prove their “worthiness” to an immigration judge compared to non-discretionary statuses that operate on the assumption that the person is already “worthy” of saving. By looking at SIJ and asylum I am attempting to investigate if immigrants almost age out of sympathy from non-discretionary statuses to discretionary statuses and when these protective statuses of “child” and “victim” are granted/taken away.
URCC: What type of funding have you received for your project, including grants, fellowships, and paid research assistant positions?
NK: I have received the Provost’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship and the Jerome A. Schiff Undergraduate Fellowship.
URCC: What have you discovered thus far, either about your research topic or the process of doing research?
NK: I knew the immigration field can be very unpredictable at times before I started my research but I was shocked to learn how big of an influence the political atmosphere can have on immigration policies and how quickly things could change. Many of the immigration attorneys I interviewed for this research topic spoke about how hard it is to provide sound legal advice especially when it comes to domestic violence asylum because if your case is still ongoing with a different presidential administration, what was a strong case during one administration could suddenly become very weak or non-existent. For example, before the Trump administration, domestic violence-based asylum claims were already difficult but during the Trump administration domestic violence was no longer an accepted basis for asylum but after Biden became elected domestic violence claims were accepted again. This change is so drastic and with how backlogged the immigration courts and asylum offices are, a case could likely be ongoing during multiple presidential administrations.
URCC: From whom do you/did you receive research mentoring, guidance, inspiration?
My research mentors, Professor Vijayakumar and Professor Mayorga, both helped me brainstorm my research topic and serve as my senior thesis chair and secondary reader respectively.
URCC: What sparked your interest in your chosen academic research area? Did you engage in any creative or research projects prior to your current project? If so, can you tell us about them?
NK: I have been interested in immigration law for a while, I had previously worked as a research assistant focused on immigration law before starting my research. My research was born from my final papers from my Sociology of Reproduction class as well as my internship at the Legal Aid Society in their Immigration Law Unit. My final paper for my class focused on recent calls to end birthright citizenship and how it is rooted in eugenics and population control. I was interested in how women were/are uniquely targeted because of their reproductive capacities and fears of a changing American demographic. During my time at my internship, I worked primarily on the DACA project and as I was working there I was thinking a lot about this form of relief of how we created this relief for children who were “blameless” in immigrating to the US yet we do not create any relief for their parents or even a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients. This led me to think a lot about this social construction of childhood/innocence and I found it hard to think about this topic without also considering motherhood/victimhood which eventually led me to my project topic.
URCC: How do you mentor new and aspiring undergraduate researchers?
NK: I am a URCC Peer Research Mentor! I try my best to expose those who attend my workshops to various fellowships and funding opportunities here at Brandeis. I believe it is important to emphasize that you can get involved in research at any stage whether this is your first time or you are more experienced. I try my best to advise from my experiences of what I wished I knew before and for people to feel more comfortable pursuing research opportunities.
URCC: What advice do you have for students who want to participate in research?
NK: Start early! I really recommend taking a research methods course earlier in your Brandeis career to learn more about different types of research and methods. Also, I recommend talking about your research questions with a professor. I had come to Professor Mayorga and Professor Vijayakumar with a general research idea and after talking with them I was able to narrow my question and they organically became my advisors for my research project.