Migration Studies Commons^™

Captivity As Crisis Response: Migration, The Pandemic, And Forms Of Confinement, Eleanor Paynter

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

During Europe’s recent “refugee crisis,” Italy responded to increased migrant arrivals by sea with progressively restrictive border and asylum policies. While crisis-response restrictions are perhaps unsurprising, those implemented since 2014 have produced a set of situations that appear, at least initially, paradoxical: Following Interior Minister Matteo Salvini’s 2018 “Closed Ports” campaign, independently-operated rescue ships continue to be blocked from disembarking the migrants they have rescued. At the same time, asylum officials have rejected claims for protection at higher rates, while border officials deport a minority of those whose claims are rejected. Thus, under the guise of crisis management, some migrants …

Labouring For Inclusion: Debating Immigrant Contributions To Chile, Megan Sheehan

Sociology Faculty Publications

Over the last three decades, Chile has experienced transformative migratory flows, becoming more diverse in the process. As migrants from Latin American and Caribbean countries settle in Chile, they often face stereotypes laminating race, ethnicity, and nationality and shape paths toward inclusion through the job market. Amid the implementation of visa restrictions and the rollout of a new migration law, current debates over migration foreground ideas about which groups productively contribute to the nation’s development – discourses often linked to labour. Government rhetoric and policy debates frame a broader discussion of the role of migration in Chile, with both Chileans …

Differences In Income For Foreign-Born Blacks Across Settlement Types In An Era Of Rising Anti-Immigration Sentiment, Sandra F. Weir

MA Research Paper

Traditional immigration patterns show immigrants in the United States settling in cities with a high density of co-ethnics called ethnic enclaves. There has been a shift in the last three decades where immigrants are moving to suburbs with a high density of one ethnic group called an ‘ethnoburb’ or mixed ethnicity suburbs. Partly reflecting the composition of migration flows, prior work has heavily focused on foreign-born Hispanics and Asians. Less attention has been paid to the settlement patterns of foreign-born Blacks. Furthermore, immigration has become more contested in the United States due to changing political discourse and it is unclear …

Justice For Venezuela: The Human Rights Violations That Are Isolating An Entire Country, Andrea Matos

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract forthcoming.

Emerging Adult College Students' Perceptions Of Immigrants: A Multisite Experimental Study, Alexa Dee Barton

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The United States (U.S.) has consistently had the largest populations of immigrants worldwide over the last two centuries, contributing to immigration’s ongoing importance as a political, social, economic, and health topic. A central point of focus has been attitudes toward immigration, which prior research has noted is influenced by both individual level and sociopolitical contextual factors. However, few studies have examined these attitudes comparatively across differing immigrant populations (e.g. nation of origin, type of immigration). Nor has the influence of perceivers’ stage of identity and social development been considered (e.g. emerging adult, generation of immigration, civic values). Utilizing quantitative methods, …

Dossier: The Stateless Rohingya—Practical Consequences Of Expulsion, Fiza Lee-Winter, Tonny Kirabira

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

The international community has been called upon to ramp up efforts to end statelessness and provided with a guiding framework of 10 Actions. This dossier presents the practical consequences of expulsion, both direct and indirect outcomes of collective violence, directed towards the Rohingyas. Touching upon the nexus between children's rights, human trafficking, and practical challenges associated on-the-ground, the dossier also discusses the imperative need for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) states—collectively as a region—to take steps in fulfilling Action 7 of the Global Action Plan through the birth registration of Rohingya children as part of their existing efforts …

Are Happy Individuals Less Xenophobic Than Unhappy Individuals? Happiness & Income Versus Xenophobia, Noah A. Albanese

Student Publications

The social science literature on xenophobia is immense. Researchers have found that individual levels of xenophobia have a strong correlation with economic indicators, education, and political affiliation. However, do they have any correlation with unconventional indicators like happiness? This paper uses data from the World Value Survey to study the correlation between individual happiness and xenophobia. I find that there is a significant correlation between individual levels of happiness and xenophobia, even when controlling for income around the world.

Spatial Disparities: The Role Of Nativity In Neighborhood Exposure To Alcohol And Tobacco Retailers, Georgiana Bostean, Luis A. Sánchez, Jason A. Douglas

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

Studies of retail environment, one of the social determinants of health, document racial/ethnic disparities in exposure to alcohol and tobacco (A and T) retailers, but have largely overlooked nativity. We examined associations between A and T retailer density and rates of foreign-born Latinx and foreign-born Asian residents in California census tracts (N = 7888), using spatial regressions and controlling for population and ecological confounders (e.g., population density, zoning, residential instability, urbanicity). Socio-demographic data came from the American Community Survey (2012–2016); census tract density of A and T retailers came from geocoded addresses from state license data for off-sale alcohol distributors …

Refugee Arrivals In The Mountain West, 2017-2021, Saha Salahi, William E. Brown Jr.

Demography

This fact sheet displays data on the influx of refugee arrivals by nation to five Mountain West States: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. Refugee Processing Center data, selected from annual reports and limited to the years 2017-2021, are presented.

Ever-Present “Illegality:” How Political Climate Impacts Undocumented Latinx Parents’ Engagement In Students’ Postsecondary Access And Success, Stephany Cuevas

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Using the ecological systems theory, this study highlights the significant impact the political climate in the United States (i.e., anti-immigrant sentiments and violence) has on undocumented Latinx parents’ engagement in their children’s education. Drawing from a larger qualitative, interview-based study that explored how undocumented Latinx parents were involved and engaged in their children’s postsecondary access and success (Cuevas, 2019; 2020), this study focuses on undocumented parents’ experiences and processing of the 2016 Presidential Election. Findings illustrate how the explicit racist, anti-immigrant, and nativist narratives then-Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump campaigned under and won forced undocumented Latinx parents to (re)evaluate how …

The Impact Of Local Demographic Change In The Contemporary United States, Christopher Maggio

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Growing racial/ethnic diversity has undoubtedly made a major social and political impact in many localities across the United States in recent times. Various studies have addressed local reactions to this demographic change, most commonly highlighting backlash among the White population. This dissertation takes an in-depth look at the impact of these demographic changes on several key outcomes: the 2016 presidential election, White attitudes toward immigration policy, and perceptions of racism among racial/ethnic minorities that may emerge as a result of White backlash. These studies are careful to examine particular subsamples that may be more or less susceptible to backlash or …

Orban's Hungary: Lack Of Freedoms Becoming The Motivation For Hungarian Emigration, Fanni Sampson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In the past 10 years Hungary has gone through some major systematic changes since the Orban administration took office. The implementations of the Orban government serve the benefits and power of his party and aim to limit the freedom of Hungarian citizens. Orban, throughout these changes, emphasizes the importance of preserving the Hungarian national identity, which he defines as far-right conservative christian values and takes control over everything that does not fit under this definition. This thesis argues that the Hungarian government is becoming increasingly dictatorial under the Orban administration which not only challenges the life of Hungarian citizens but …

Remarkably Ordinary, An Oral History:
 Examining The Micro Effects Of Family Reunification On The Lee Siblings And Their Spouses, Carol Joo Lee

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Family reunification accounts for a majority of entry mechanisms by which current Korean immigrants arrived in the U.S. The peak Korean immigration period from the mid-1970s to the late 1980s saw a dwindling of skill-based immigration and a rapid increase of immigrants who arrived through family preferences as a direct result of the Immigration Act of 1965. Despite there being ample studies and aggregate data on the post-1965 immigrants from Korea, not enough micro-level research has been conducted on the ways in which the family reunification provisions affected individuals, their brothers and sisters, and the inter-family dynamic both prior and …

Socioeconomic Status Of Second-Generation Southeast Asians: New Evidence And Analysis, Wayne Carroll

Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement

Over a million refugees and other immigrants arrived in the United States from Southeast Asia starting in 1975. Forty-five years later, their adult children have completed their education in the U.S. and entered the labor force. This study uses a large microdata sample from the American Community Survey to describe and compare the socioeconomic status of Southeast Asian American adults and native-born white adults. Results are disaggregated by gender, generation (Generation 1.5 and Generation 2), and ethnic group (Hmong, other Laotian, Cambodian, and Vietnamese). Regression analysis – controlling for age, educational attainment, and other factors – shows that native-born white …

“There Shall Be Made No Differentiation:” The Maintenance Of Stratification In The State Of Kuwait Through The 1959 Nationality And Aliens Residence Laws, Alzaina Shams Aldeen

Masters Theses

Article 29 of the Kuwaiti constitution states that “The people are peers in human dignity and have, in the eyes of the Law, equal public rights and obligations. There shall be made no differentiation among them because of gender, origin, language or religion.” If I were to say that the 17, 818 km ² that make up the State of Kuwait is home to 4.2 million people, it would be a misrepresentation. While 4.2 million people do live in Kuwait, citizenship and immigration laws restrict 70% of its population, to varying degrees, from making their country of residence a home. …

Whose Crisis Is It? Reconsidering The “Migrant Crisis”, Letitia Basford

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

In 2015, the world witnessed a “refugee crisis” when millions of Syrians, but also Afghans, Iraqis, Somalis, and others, fled their countries for Europe. That exodus continues today. A similar “migrant crisis” is happening in North and Central America, where thousands of Central Americans are fleeing their countries for the United States. The response by Europe and the United States has been dominated by fear. Instead of looking at this crisis as a humanitarian one--as a global issue that needs collaboration and forward-thinking-- we are responding with knee-jerk, defensive measures like building higher walls and detention centers that resemble prisons. …

Ethnic Identity, Self-Esteem & Intra Group Conflicts Amongst Latinos, Christian Arevalo

McNair Research Journal SJSU

Unlike Salvadorans, Mexican/Mexican Americans have long established communities revolved around their culture. They have advanced in social class, education and political representation. On the other hand, Salvadorans have only just recently begun migrating and settling in predominantly Mexican/Mexican American communities. Competition over resources and the preservation of Mexican/Mexican American culture has caused continuing conflicts among Salvadorans and Mexicans/Mexican Americans. Additionally, inter-ethnic and in-group conflicts are also affected by generational differences (1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd generation, etc.). Due to acculturation, Latinos/as struggle to retain their cultural heritage and parents often lose the ability to influence their children’s …

Cldv 100 Introduction To Multicultural Studies In The 21st Century, Oluremi "Remi" Alapo

Open Educational Resources

A study of what "culture" is; how we see it based on several factors, how it influences the choices and decision we make; how to deal positively with conflicts that inevitably arise in working /living situations with people of diverse cultures. This is a course structured to raise multicultural awareness and fortify students' social skills in dealing with cultural differences. It includes ethnographic study of cultural groups in the U.S.A and responses to shared values, observations or experiences based on student's ancestry, heritage, travels. Students will learn about culture "do and donts" around the world and provide the class with …

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 …

New Representations Of Difference: Mexican Filmmakers In New York City., Luis B. Quesada Nieto

CUNY Mexican Studies Institute

This essay comments on recent cinematographic productions that explore the complex links between Mexico and New York as part of the ʻMexico on the Hudsonʼ Online Film and Conversational Series, organized by the Mexican Studies Institute at City University of New York and the New York based non-profit media arts organization Cinema Tropical. The reflection takes the films I’m leaving now (Lindsey Cordero and Armando Croda 2019), On the Seventh Day (Jim Mackay 2018), and La Ciudad (David Riker 1998) as a sample that exemplifies a cultural and political phenomenon in which the mediated representation of contemporary minorities has been …

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 …

Planting Power Or Planting A Paradox? Urban Agriculture, Gentrification, And Community Development In Oakland, California, Elissa M. Mann

Master's Projects and Capstones

Urban agriculture has long been used as a tool for promoting food justice and urban sustainability in municipalities across the globe. From vertical and rooftop growing operations to community and residential garden plots, the idealistically transformative nature of urban agriculture is becoming an increasingly popular subject among scholars, city planners, policymakers, and activists alike. A handful of cautionary scholars, however, have begun to uncover the elusive role that food justice oriented urban agriculture projects can play in facilitating gentrification and displacement in low-income communities. My capstone project focuses on the relationship between urban agriculture and gentrification, specifically asking: How does …

A Tale Of Two Biennales: How Contemporary Art In Italy Reflects Current European Politics, Hannah Rosabel Capucilli-Shatan

CISLA Senior Integrative Projects

No abstract provided.

Investigating Academic Pressures On The Children Of Immigrants, Michelle S. Murphy

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Immigration is a hot button issue in US society, and has been for a while now. Starting with the wave of Irish immigrants in 1815, immigrants were not necessarily greeted with open arms (History.com Editors. 2018). Throughout history, excluding immigrants and treating them poorly became a pattern. This includes the Chinese Exclusion Act, and the quota system placed into action in 1924 (History.com Editors. 2018). Immigrants have always been resisted by American society and treated accordingly.

This resistance against immigrants has only grown since the 2016 Presidential election. Immigrants and their families have been stereotyped as uneducated and who “steal …

Untold Stories Of The African Diaspora: The Lived Experiences Of Black Caribbean Immigrants In The Greater Hartford Area, Shanelle A. Jones

University Scholar Projects

The African Diaspora represents vastly complex migratory patterns. This project studies the journeys of English-speaking Afro-Caribbeans who immigrated to the US for economic reasons between the 1980s-present day. While some researchers emphasize the success of West Indian immigrants, others highlight the issue of downward assimilation many face upon arrival in the US. This paper explores the prospect of economic incorporation into American society for West Indian immigrants. I conducted and analyzed data from an online survey and 10 oral histories of West Indian economic migrants residing in the Greater Hartford Area to gain a broader perspective on the economic attainment …

“They’Re Bringing Drugs... They’Re Bringing Crime... They’Re Rapists”: Exploring Latino Immigration, Crime, And Voting Patterns In The 2016 Presidential Election, Brogan Estelle Arguelles

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The political race for the 2016 United States President brimmed with conflict over an array of issues, notably Latino immigration from Mexico and Latin America to the U.S. The rhetoric of then Presidential Candidate Donald Trump centered around the idea that Mexico was not sending its finest immigrants; that, in place, they were sending rapists and criminals. This rhetoric was heard loud and clear and has since affected various U.S. policies and programs that actively exclude Latino immigrants. Using census data from 2015, rates of immigration and rates of violent crime were compared against 2016 election results, all at the …

Latino Voter Registration And Participation Rates In The 2020 Presidential Election, Laird W. Bergad, Luis A. Miranda Jr.

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction:

This report examines voter registration and participation rates among Latinos in every presidential election since 1992.

Methods:

All data on registration and voting found in this report were derived from the Voting and Registration Tables issued by the U.S. Census Bureau at https://www.census.gov/topics/public-sector/voting/data/tables.html.

Discussion:

Latino voter registration rates reached an all-time high in the 2020 presidential election: 61.1% of all Latino citizens 18 years of age and older, rising from 57.3% in 2016. Latino voting rates (the percentage of Latinos eligible to vote who actually voted) also rose to a historic high of 53.7% in November 2020, increasing from …

Latinos In Brooklyn: Demographic And Socioeconomic Transformations In Sunset Park/Windsor Terrace And Bushwick, 1990-2017, Sejung Sage Yim

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction:

This report examines the key demographic and socioeconomic trends in Brooklyn, New York between 1990 and 2017. The report focuses on the two community districts that have the first- and second- largest Latino populations in the borough: Bushwick (community district 4) and Sunset Park/Windsor Terrace (community district 7).

Methods:

This report uses the American Community Survey PUMS (Public Use Microdata Series) data for all years released by the Census Bureau and reorganized for public use by the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota, IPUMSusa, (https://usa.ipums.org/usa/index.shtml). See Public Use Microdata Series Steven Ruggles, J. Trent Alexander, Katie Genadek, Ronald Goeken, …

Testimonio And Counterstorytelling By Immigrant-Origin Children And Youth: Insights That Amplify Immigrant Subjectivities, Ariana Mangual Figueroa, Wendy Barrales

Publications and Research

This article seeks to amplify our scholarly view of immigrant identity by centering the first-person narratives of immigrant-origin children and youth. Our theoretical and methodological framework centers on testimonio—a narrative practice popularized in Latin American social movements in which an individual recounts a lived experience that is intended to be representative of a collective struggle. Our goal is to foreground first-person narratives of childhood as told by immigrant-origin children and youth in order to gain insight into what they believe we should know about them. We argue for the power of testimonio to communicate both extraordinary hardship and everyday experiences …

The Role Of Occupational Therapy In Supporting The Enculturation And Acculturation Process For Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Immigrants, Sherry A. Manoly, Susan Macdermott, Karen Park, Becki Cohill

Spring 2021 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

Objectives: The Egyptian Coptic Orthodox population in America has grown exponentially due to religious intolerance in Egypt. Many Copts move to the U.S. and experience feelings of helplessness because of the stark difference in American culture compared to the culture they had left behind. Occupational therapy (OT) is a profession that can impact the Copts due to the focus on gaining independence in life through participation in meaningful occupations. This qualitative study sought to answer the research question, “what is the current state of occupational engagement for recently immigrated Coptic Christian immigrants, and how can occupational therapy support immigrant populations?” …