Migration Studies Commons^™

From Patriarchal Stereotypes To Matriarchal Pleasures Of Hybridity: Representation Of A Muslim Family In Berlin, Rahime Özgün Kehya Dr

Journal of Religion & Film

Sinan Çetin’s blockbuster Berlin in Berlin (1993) is a Turkish-German co-production. In contrast to certain representational tendencies with German orientalism or Turkish occidentalism, it deconstructs the intersectional structures of migration, religion, and gender. The portrayal of religion in films about Turkish-German labour migration is a kind of cultural narcissism often projected into national cinema by denigrating the faith of the other and glorifying one’s own religion. However, perspectives at such intersections are critical and require sensitivity in filmmaking, as films can create prejudice or help build peaceful relationships around these sensitive issues. The paper employs discourse analysis in linking Derrida’s …

Power And Impact: Examining The Role Of Monarchy And Media In Shaping Attitudes Around Race And Human Rights For Sub-Saharan Migrant Populations In Morocco, Leila Narisetti

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this investigation is to delve into the intricate dynamics surrounding migration in Morocco, specially focusing on the Maghreb region’s treatment of sub-Saharan migrants and the complex interplay between institutions of power, media narratives and societal attitudes towards race and identity. Drawing on Morocco’s historical relationship with slavery and its present handling of Africanness, the analysis unveils a culture of denial that deeply impacts the integration of migrants and the perpetuating of discriminatory practices. The narrative shifts towards the role of rhetoric and media, emphasizing its pivotal importance in shaping societal perspectives, particularly regarding non-Moroccans. The examination extends …

Liquid Border, Yingfan Jia

Masters Theses

A River is a mighty and constantly-evolving force, leaving behind an intricately designed and constantly changing system. Not just a river, the Rio Grande stretches all the way from Colorado before intersecting with the US-Mexico Border in southern Texas - a point where the powerful forces of nature now merge with a clearly-defined political boundary. The outcome of this is a unique ecological niche, which may often go unnoticed despite its distinctiveness.

Texas is famous for its farms and ranches, and the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas was once an agricultural hub. However, urbanization and the depletion of water …

Whose Nation Is It? A Critical Analysis Of The Impacts Of Conservative Nationalism And Migration Security On Marginalized Groups In America, Joshua Jackson

International Studies (MA) Theses

This research aims to examine the effects of migration securitization on marginalized citizens in the United States of America by examining it through a conservative nationalist lens. While the securitization of migration is “the process through which the phenomenon of migration is framed as a threat to the survival of a certain referent object” (von Rosen, 2019, p. 36), the byproduct of that framing extends beyond the initially constructed threat (von Rosen, 2019). The framing of immigration and migrants as a threat to the United States is not a new occurrence and has served to bolster conservative politicians and construct …

Tek Dem Han An Tun Fashion: Gender, Class, Ethnicity, And Placemaking In The Jamaican Transmigrant Network, Brenique Bogle

Senior Projects Spring 2022

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Rethinking Immigration Justice: Mexican Community Activism While Serving Migrants In Transit., Angélica Villagrana

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research study focuses on the externalization of migration control and its effects on staffmembers of community organizations that serve Central American migrants in transit. While literature on migration enforcement places emphasis on border control and internal removals, research on new forms of migration enforcement has paid little attention to the extension of border control beyond physical borders. This study employed an ethnographic approach to address the overarching question of how community organizers have responded to the adoption of US practices on extraterritorial migration control by the Mexican government while serving migrants in transit. Data collected provide empirical evidence contextual …

A Treacherous Journey Through Latin America: The Plight Of Black African And Haitian Migrants Forced To Remain In Mexico, Zefitret A. Molla

Master's Theses

The growing presence of Black African and Haitian migrants in Mexico poses a new set of challenges to a country that is already struggling to recognize the presence of Afro-Mexicans and where mestizaje still dominates the national discourse on race. Due to restrictive U.S. and Mexican immigration policies since 2016, many of these migrants have found themselves forced to remain in a country they had only intended to transit through on their journey northward to the U.S. Mexico has only recently taken the necessary steps to recognize its Afro-Mexican population which had been marginalized and erased from history. This paper …

Intangible Cultural Heritage: A Benefit To Climate-Displaced And Host Communities, Gül Aktürk, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Climate change is borderless, and its impacts are not shared equally by all communities. It causes an imbalance between people by creating a more desirable living environment for some societies while erasing settlements and shelters of some others. Due to floods, sea level rise, destructive storms, drought, and slow-onset factors such as salinization of water and soil, people lose their lands, homes, and natural resources. Catastrophic events force people to move voluntarily or involuntarily. The relocation of communities is a debatable climate adaptation measure which requires utmost care with human rights, ethics, and psychological well-being of individuals upon the issues …

Sexuality And Borders In Right Wing Times: A Conversation, Alyosxa Tudor, Miriam Ticktin

Publications and Research

We respond to prompts about the relationships between race, migration, and sexuality, as these intersecting differences have been forced into the same frame by the violent practices of right-wing regimes, and brought into relief by Covid19. Even as we have long known that sexual politics are a way to govern bodies, and to distribute uneven states of vulnerability, we are seeing new incarnations of government. What we aim to point out is how people who are seen as “different” are being attacked, maimed, dispossessed and murdered. But perhaps more importantly, we insist on the specific nature of right-wing times because …

Latinos In Massachusetts: Ecuadorians, Phillip Granberry, Krizia Valentino

Gastón Institute Publications

The Gastón Institute’s 2020 Latinos in Massachusetts series focuses on the ten largest Latino populations located throughout the state. In order of size, these Latino populations are Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Brazilians, Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Mexicans, Colombians, Cubans, Hondurans, and Ecuadorians. This report analyzes Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) data from the 2017 American Community Survey (ACS) conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. Our descriptive analysis uses both household- and individual-level data to estimate population size and percentages and to compare Ecuadorians to Other Latinos and Non-Latinos in the state.

Latinos In Massachusetts: Hondurans, Phillip Granberry, Krizia Valentino

Gastón Institute Publications

The Gastón Institute’s 2020 Latinos in Massachusetts series focuses on the ten largest Latino populations located throughout the state. In order of size, these Latino populations are Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Brazilians, Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Mexicans, Colombians, Cubans, Hondurans, and Ecuadorans. This report analyzes Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) data from the 2017 American Community Survey (ACS) conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. Our descriptive analysis uses both household- and individual-level data to estimate population size and percentages and to compare Hondurans to Other Latinos and Non-Latinos in the state.

Latinos In Massachusetts: Colombians, Phillip Granberry, Krizia Valentino

Gastón Institute Publications

The Gastón Institute’s 2020 Latinos in Massachusetts series focuses on the ten largest Latino populations located throughout the state. In order of size, these Latino populations are Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Brazilians, Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Mexicans, Colombians, Cubans, Hondurans, and Ecuadorans. This report analyzes Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) data from the 2017 American Community Survey (ACS) conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. Our descriptive analysis uses both household- and individual-level data to estimate population size and percentages and to compare Colombians to Other Latinos and Non-Latinos in the state.

Massachusetts was home in 2017 to 918,565 Latinos, of whom 42,488, or …

Latinos In Massachusetts: Guatemalans, Phillip Granberry, Krizia Valentino

Gastón Institute Publications

The Gastón Institute’s 2020 Latinos in Massachusetts series focuses on the ten largest Latino populations located throughout the state. In order of size, these Latino populations are Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Brazilians, Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Mexicans, Colombians, Cubans, Hondurans, and Ecuadorans. This report analyzes Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) data from the 2017 American Community Survey (ACS) conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. Economic factors have historically affected the migration patterns of Central Americans such as Guatemalans. Prior to the 1980s, Central American migration to the United States showed a marked bipolarity. The majority of migrants were upper- and middle-class individuals who …

Latinos In Massachusetts: Cubans, Gaston Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Phillip Granberry, Krizia Valentino

Gastón Institute Publications

The Gastón Institute’s 2020 Latinos in Massachusetts series focuses on the ten largest Latino populations located throughout the state. In order of size, these Latino populations are Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Brazilians, Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Mexicans, Colombians, Cubans, Hondurans, and Ecuadorans. This report analyzes Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) data from the 2017 American Community Survey (ACS) conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. Our descriptive analysis uses both household- and individual-level data to estimate population size and percentages and to compare Cubans to Other Latinos and Non-Latinos in the state.

Latinos In Massachusetts: Mexicans, Phillip Granberry, Krizia Valentino

Gastón Institute Publications

The Gastón Institute’s 2020 Latinos in Massachusetts series focuses on the ten largest Latino populations located throughout the state. In order of size, these Latino populations are Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Brazilians, Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Mexicans, Colombians, Cubans, Hondurans, and Ecuadorans. This report analyzes Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) data from the 2017 American Community Survey (ACS) conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. Our descriptive analysis uses both household- and individual-level data to estimate population size and percentages and to compare Mexicans to Other Latinos and Non-Latinos in the state.

Latinos In Massachusetts: Salvadorans, Phillip Granberry, Krizia Valentino

Gastón Institute Publications

A civil war in El Salvador in the 1970s and 1980s created a need for the United States to accept refugees, but the U.S. Justice Department’s Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) seldom granted petitions for political asylum by Salvadorans. In response, the Cambridge City Council in1985 passed a resolution that gave sanctuary to Salvadoran and other refugees. This helped facilitate Salvadoran migration to Massachusetts. Now after several decades, the Salvadoran population mostly resides in several cities and towns in the Greater Boston area, and over 40% of their population is native born. The social and economic analysis that follows paints …

Birth Across Borders: Migueleña Maternal Experience In Palm Beach County, Florida, Inbal Mazar

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

Dangers for pregnant Maya women in San Miguel Acatán, a highland hamlet in Huehuetenango, Guatemala are exceptionally high. Those who migrate to Palm Beach County, Florida also face significant risks during pregnancy. However, conceptualizing migrants as vulnerable and non-agentive dismisses the opportunity to explore other dimensions of migrant women experiences. Interviews with Migueleña mothers and midwives and health professionals and advocates in both regions revealed resilience strategies Migueleña migrants create and employ as they navigate linguistically and culturally foreign medical systems. The support they provide each other results in more positive maternal experiences under arduous circumstances. Over time, Migueleñas are …

Latinos In Massachusetts: Brazilians, Phillip Granberry, Krizia Valentino

Gastón Institute Publications

Early Brazilian migration to Massachusetts traces itself to the 1970s, and large-scale migration began in the mid-1980s. Though earlier Brazilian migrants settled in Boston and Somerville, by 1990s Brazilians had begun to disperse to Framingham and other cities and towns across the Boston metropolitan area and on Cape Cod. Brazilians have a large unauthorized population and have few avenues to obtain citizenship. Due to their precarious legal status in the United States, many believe that the American Community Survey (ACS) estimates used for this report undercounts the Brazilian population. In 2015, the Brazilian Consulate in Boston estimates 350,000 Brazilians living …

Latinos In Massachusetts: Dominicans, Phillip Granberry, Krizia Valentino

Gastón Institute Publications

Since the early 1980s, there has been a notable increase in the number of Dominicans in Massachusetts due at first to international migration and later due to nativity. Dominican migration is primarily circular. Dominican migrants embody the notion of transnationalism, that is, they have ties to both the United States and the Dominican Republic. Now after several decades, nearly half of their population is native born. The largest Dominican populations in the state are in Lawrence and Boston. The social and economic analysis that follows paints a mixed picture of their incorporation into Massachusetts. Dominicans have higher labor force participation …

Latinos In Massachusetts: Puerto Ricans, Phillip Granberry, Krizia Valentino

Gastón Institute Publications

Puerto Ricans are the largest Latino population in Massachusetts. They started arriving in the Connecticut River Valley after World War II to fill the state’s need for agricultural workers. Springfield has the largest population and Holyoke the largest share of Puerto Ricans in the state. This migration pattern is important because Western Massachusetts has not experienced economic growth as other parts of the state, and over 25% of Puerto Ricans in the state live there. This concentration of their population in this region shapes many of the demographic, social, and economic characteristics in this report. Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico …

Risking Rescue: The Politics Of Precarity In Mediterranean Crossing, Eleanor Paynter

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

Over the course of Europe’s recent refugee crisis, the role of Search and Rescue (SAR) has changed dramatically, first forming a critical part of (inter)national responses to the crisis, and now occupying an antagonistic position, as countries have closed their ports to NGO-operated vessels and the European Commission (EC) has ceased naval Search and Rescue operations. As a result, migrants crossing the Central Mediterranean face different and increased risks, including dying at sea, being held by European authorities, or being apprehended closer to Libya and sent to a Libyan detention camp.

In response to these shifts, groups that continue SAR …

Disability And Migration: How Systems Of Violence Intersect With The Production And Experience Of Disability For Migrants In Morocco, Frances Condon

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project investigates the perspectives and experiences of physically disabled, chronically ill, or bodily-impaired migrants from south of the Sahara living in Rabat, Morocco. Increasing interest in disabled migrants’ rights from international organizations risks erasing those being ‘protected’ if it does not attend to the intersections of race, class, citizenship, and gender as they relate to the production and experience of disability for migrants. Produced by and for the (white) global North, I argue that traditional Euro-American disability studies scholarship is ill-equipped to address the issues faced by disabled migrants in post-colonial contexts. In addition to being ineffective, the uncritical …

Perceptions Of The North American Free Trade Agreement And Mexican Migration: “What Is The Relationship Between Trade Liberalization And Labor Mobility?”, Colin Gonzalez

Political Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

In an effort to understand the effectiveness of the North American Free Trade Agreement, the author uses previous academic literature to assesses the success of the North American Free Trade Agreement’s primary and peripheral goals. To understand how North American citizens, perceive NAFTA and their future relationship with one another, the author uses survey data to analyze attitudes of American and Mexican citizens towards trade liberalization (NAFTA) and labor mobility. Regression analysis reveals that there is a positive relationship between labor mobility and trade liberalization for Mexican citizens but not for American citizens. This is a significant finding that contributes …

A Study Of The Causes Of The Negro Migration Of 1922-1923 From Rural Georgia To Northern Cities, Ali Jalal Abed

History Theses & Dissertations

Abstract unavailable.