Migration Studies Commons^™

The Illusion Of Absence, Abraham K. Ali

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The Illusion of Absence is a collection of thirty poems with a critical introduction that examines the poetic legacy of paternal absence and the reconfiguration of family in Africa and diasporic narratives. I grew up in Nigeria without my father. His absence has shaped my understanding of love, silence, manhood, and home. This manuscript is an exploration of the lasting legacy of my father’s absence and its place within an exploration of masculinity within the broader context of the African and diasporic experience. My mother became the focal point within the home as she brought cohesion and unity within the …

The Geography Of Race: A Spatial Analysis Of Free People Of Color In The City Of Charleston (1790-1861), Alexandra Ullman

All Theses

In Charleston, South Carolina, for all but one year from 1790 to 1860, the enslaved and free Black population outnumbered that of the white. Through manumission, the process of an enslaved person gaining their freedom, the free Black population grew substantially and reached a peak in South Carolina during the nineteenth century. This large community of free people of color (FPOC), shifted the social climate by upsetting the balance of white power, thus increasing racial conflict, tension, and legislation that aimed to control the movement of FPOC.

Despite FPOC comprising a significant portion of the total population of Charleston, there …

Exploring The Biocultural Profile Of The Undocumented Populations Of The Sonoran Corridor: A Skeletal Assessment Of The Prevention Through Deterrence Strategy, Mary A. Vaughn

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Over the last thirty years the mortality rate of the undocumented population at the US-Mexico border has risen, requiring methods distinguishing US-born individuals from immigrants to improve the likelihood of identification and repatriation through foreign consulates. Forensic anthropologists with the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner (PCOME) have advocated for the use of the biocultural profile, combining the biological profile with factors including oral health, osteological stress, and personal effects. The biocultural profile serves two purposes, functioning both as a tool for identification and with which to document structural inequality within communities of origin.

This study examines changes in …

‘Taking Out The Trash’: Domestic Care & Women’S Immigration, Mari Arrieta

Student Scholarship

Spring 2026 SOCI 232: Social Policy and Global Issues course.

Research questions:

2.1. Private Childcare

Why is childcare in the United States treated as a private responsibility rather than a public good?

2.2. Immigrant Women & Childcare

In what ways does the U.S. childcare system rely on and reproduce immigrant women’s labor through labor regulations?

Arrival Is Not Access, Emmanuel Asamoah

School of Art, Art History, and Design: Theses and Student Creative Work

This thesis presents a group of sculptures and installations that explore how material, labor, and communication shape unequal access in diasporic life. It questions the common belief that movement, visibility, or relocation automatically leads to stability, care, or belonging. In my experience, arrival does not guarantee access. Using clay, steel and found materials, I create tension between softness and control. Many of these materials are worn and discarded. I cut and rebuild them, leaving marks of strain and repair visible rather than hiding them.

Repetition appears through rows of cast faces and a collection of telephones. These forms suggest shared …

From Arrival To Opportunity: A Policy Analysis For Supporting Newly Arrived English Learners In California, Valeria Gabrielli, Stephanie Mendoza Hernandez

School of Public Policy Capstones

Newly arrived immigrant students, commonly referred to as “newcomers,” represent a notable portion of the English Learner (EL) population in California’s K–12 public schools. As of Fall 2023, the California Department of Education reported that newcomers comprised 3.27% of total student enrollment. Although enrollment is projected to decline in the near term, the potential for future increases highlights the need for sustainable, evidence-based support systems. This study examines how California K–12 public schools with large EL populations provide academic and trauma-informed support services to newcomer students, with a particular focus on early intervention in grades K–5. Using the Bardach policy …

Quantifying Global Internal Displacement Risk At The Hazard-Vulnerability-Conflict Nexus, Wenzhao Li, Surendra Maharjan, Rejoice Thomas, Hesham Morgan, Ali Elgendy, Susan Mikhail, Hesham El-Askary

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

This study introduces a novel, diagnostic hazard-specific displacement risk index that integrates high-resolution hazard data with social vulnerability metrics and historical displacement records, uncovering overlooked compound risks in conflict areas and links between environmental stress and instability. Our methodology combines historical displacement records with environmental, demographic, and socioeconomic indicators to identify high-risk regions and quantify interactions between hazards and conflict across six major hazard types. Results reveal floods as the primary displacement driver, particularly in South Asia (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan) and Sub-Saharan Africa (Nigeria, Ethiopia), where dense populations in flood-prone areas intersect with low socioeconomic resilience. Droughts disproportionately impact arid …

Analyzing Methods To Support Students Left Behind In Colorado Primary/Secondary Schools, Grace Hudson

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

In the United States, there has been an increase of deportations, since 2024, of undocumented immigrants. This has disproportionally affected Mexicans and others from Latin American countries (Dreby 2012) due to them being the largest group of undocumented people in the United States. One effect of these deportations is an increase in children that are left in the United States while their parent(s) are in detention or have been deported. Some of these children are in mixed-status families, which means that the child has a different citizenship status than their parents or other members in their family, which allows for …

The Migrant As A Pilgrim: Decolonising Identity And Belonging, Susan Nemec

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This paper responds to pilgrimage scholar George Greenia’s assertion that meaningful intersections exist between pilgrimage and various forms of displacement, such as migration or involuntary exile due to famine, war, or political unrest. Greenia proposes that vulnerable, displaced individuals might find shelter, both conceptually and emotionally, within the framing of pilgrimage. By extending concepts of pilgrimage, it can be understood as a deliberate and intentional journey, simultaneously emphasising the transformative potential inherent in migratory movement. By adopting a working definition of pilgrimage as ‘any form of travel that is intentional, purposeful, or transformative,’ the paper considers how migrancy, particularly within …

How Changes In Mexican Immigration To The United States Affect Mexican Labor Markets, Gonzalo Ares De Parga-Regalado, Marta Prato

Upjohn Institute Policy and Research Briefs

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Declining U.S. Immigration On Local Labor Markets In Mexico, Gonzalo Ares De Parga-Regalado, Marta Prato

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

This paper examines how declining migration opportunities to the United States affect local labor markets in Mexico. Using novel micro-level data from consular identification cards and deportations, we link individuals’ Mexican municipalities of origin to their U.S. destination states. We implement a shift-share design based on historical migration networks and exploit regional variation in exposure to changes in U.S. migration flows between 2017 and 2022 to identify the local labor market effects of reduced emigration while controlling for involuntary repatriations. While we find no impact on overall employment rates, regions more exposed to the decline in migration experience an increase …

Immigration Enforcement And Origin Country Labor Markets, Thomas Pearson

Center for Policy Research

This paper studies how increased immigration enforcement in the destination country impacts labor markets in the origin country. Using variation in Mexican migrant networks and Secure Communities (SC), a policy which expanded local immigration enforcement, I show that the deportation of Mexican migrants from the U.S. increases return migration to Mexico and decreases monthly earnings for workers in Mexico. The negative earnings effects are largest for workers most similar to return migrants in terms of their demographics, occupations, and employment types, and are consistent with increased labor market competition.

Journeys Of Emancipation, Struggle, Or Both? Accounts From Professional Egyptian Migrant Women In Germany, Adam Eddouss

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the migration experiences of a group of professional Egyptian migrant women living in Germany. By employing a qualitative approach, primarily through semi-structured interviews, and guided by migration literature, this research attempts to move away from the oversimplistic approach that migration is an ‘either or’ reality. Mainstream migration scholarship, specifically that focusing on migrant women, tends to focus on depicting migration within an emancipation-struggle binary, presenting migrant women either as victims or as heroines. This work, antithetically, describes how migrant women experiences can be complex, highlighting, both instances of strength and struggle. Grounded in the words of the …

Gender, Integration, And Labor Market Access: The Case Of Syrian Refugees In Germany, Feras Al-Mekhlafy

Theses and Dissertations

Germany hosts one of the largest populations of Syrian refugees in Europe, making their successful labor market integration critical for social and economic stability. This study investigates the gender gap among Syrian refugees in Germany within the broader refugee–native labor market gap. Using cross-sectional data from the 2022 SOEP refugee survey, it applies a Heckman two-step selection model to jointly analyze employment and wage outcomes while correcting for selection bias. Results reveal that structural barriers (e.g.: legal and bureaucratic) and compositional factors (e.g.: human capital) rather than wage discrimination drive most observed disparities. Female refugees face significantly lower employment probabilities, …

Finding Luis: A Creative Nonfiction Account Of Law & Society, Jason M. Leggett

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This essay explores the contradictions in legal theory and human experience through creative nonfiction. Its main purpose is to argue that a truly just society requires acknowledging the profound influence of individual narratives on the law. This is supported by blending personal narratives, critical analysis, and philosophical inquiry to reveal the gap between codified law and lived realities for marginalized individuals. This unique Legal Poetics methodology employs a series of six vignettes, such as the author's and Luis's shared experiences with traumatic brain injury and the denial of justice, as data. By integrating autoethnography, law as narrative, and performativity theories, …

Towards Unbordered Worlds: Mutual Aid Amid Border Internalisation In New York City, Holly Maclean

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study explores the relationship between mutual aid and border regimes through the case of Tompkins Distro, a mutual aid group that organises a weekly food distribution in the East Village of New York City. It focuses specifically on two forms of border internalisation that have shaped the emergence and context of Tompkins Distro: welfare state bordering and interior border enforcement. Drawing on four months of participant observations, interviews with core organisers, and documentary analysis, the study examines how Tompkins Distro meets people’s needs each week through a framework of collective care that actively rejects border logics of deservingness and …

Emergency At The Borders: Response To Refugees In Sallum Camp, Shaimaa Hy Hassanein

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the emergency humanitarian response at Sallum camp at the Egyptian border upon the Lybian crisis between 2011 and 2014. By positioning the lived experiences and perspectives of humanitarian aid workers at the center, this research argues that the camp constituted a distinct and dynamic space shaped by shifting geopolitical conditions, state sovereignty concerns, and bureaucratic ambiguity. Drawing on qualitative interviews with frontline humanitarian aid workers who operated and lived in the camp over extended periods, the study explores how humanitarian interventions were negotiated, adapted, and implemented within a highly constrained environment.

The thesis highlights the Egyptian state’s …

Investigating The Risk Factors Affecting The Control Of Diabetes And Hypertension In The Refugees Living In Egypt, Noura Seada

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) account for 74% of global deaths, with high prevalence of Diabetes and Hypertension worldwide. Egypt hosts over 1 million registered refugees and asylum seekers, often lacking inclusion in social protection or insurance schemes. This study aimed to assess the factors affecting the control of Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) and Hypertension (HTN) among Syrian and Sudanese refugees in Egypt, focusing on healthcare access, sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle, and health behaviours.

Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional design using a self-administered questionnaire and BMI measurement. Data were collected from 246 refugees diagnosed with type T2D and/or HTN in the …

Corrigendum To “Decolonizing Knowledge As Epistemic Justice: Key Conceptual Tendencies From The Global South” [Tanzania Journal Of Sociology, Vol. 11, Issue No.2, December 2025: 113 - 128], Richard Sambaiga

Tanzania Journal of Sociology

This article registers corrections done to a reference section of "Decolonizing Knowledge as Epistemic Justice: Key Conceptual Tendencies from the Global South” [Tanzania Journal of Sociology, Vol. 11, Issue No.2, December 2025: 113 - 128]

Where Do Latinos Live In The New York City Metropolitan Area? Changing Settlement Patterns, 2000 - 2024, Laird W. Bergad

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

This report shows that between 2000 and 2024, the Latino population of the New York metropolitan area increased by 48% from 3,592,542 to 5,316,472 according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Along with population expansion, there was a decisive change in settlement patterns among all Latinos, which, in fact, began before 2000. This was the decline of New York City as the major area of the Latino population concentration, although there were differentiations by nationality.

In 2000, 60% of all Latinos in the region lived in the City. By 2024, this had declined to 46%. And while the City’s Latino population …