Immigrants and the Pandemic in a Leading Region of Northern Italy: A Question of Positioning

This paper examines the impact of the pandemic on immigrants in one of the most economically developed areas in Northern Italy. Using a qualitative approach, the author highlights the effects on the traditional dimensions of inclusion (work and housing) and the perspectives of the younger generations (education and transition to adulthood). The results indicate how the weak social positioning of immigrants strongly and selectively conditioned their response to the pandemic. The study also revealed the intense erosion of immigrants’ social capital and the need for strategies to strengthen it.
Keywords: pandemic, Italy, immigrants, social capital, inequalities