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This research examines interstate in-movement, out-movement, and resulting patterns of net migration of Blacks, Asians, Hispanics, and non-Hispanic Whites in the United States, using data from the 2005-2007 American Community Survey. After illustrating their patterns of internal migration, we also show how Black, Asian, Hispanic, and White net migration levels are associated with several economic and social characteristics of the states. The goal is to learn how similar or dissimilar members of these four broad racial categories are in choosing to enter and exit different parts of the country, and thereby contribute to ongoing discussion of differential spatial relocation of racial groups (i.e., are some groups moving to a different set of states than others?). The results suggest that the similarities in patterns of Black, Asian, Hispanic, and White in-, out-, and net migration overshadow the differences. States to which members of one racial category are attracted, and states that they avoid or depart from, are, to a very strong degree, the same states that the other races also move to, avoid, or leave. Moreover, we find that these racial groups resemble each other in terms of the direction and strength of their net migration's correlation with state economic and social characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This correlational and descriptive study used survey methodology (1) to determine how members of the general population perceive immigrants, (2) to examine the factors influencing those perceptions, and (3) to assess how members of the general population perceive policy proposals dealing with immigrants and immigration. Using the Pearson's Correlation Coefficient and Spearman's Rho, Social Dominance Orientation and Right Wing Authoritarianism were shown to be more salient in those who view illegal immigrants more negatively and want immigration policy to be more restrictive, while those who are high in Humanitarianism-Egalitarianism have the opposite views. Those who have had a deeper level of contact with immigrants and those who see the US as a changing, multicultural society are more positive towards illegal immigrants and want immigration policies that are more favorable towards them. Participants who were older viewed illegal immigrants more negatively and were more restrictive when it came to immigration policy. Those who are more educated and those who had a foreign-born grandparent were the opposite. Females, those who heard more positive things about immigrants in the past month, more liberal participants and those who see the US financial situation more positively were more positive toward illegal immigrants and more open on immigration policy. Those who viewed illegal immigrants positively were also more likely to support policy initiatives that would help them. Finally, using the MANOVA, Those who spoke English at home were more negative towards illegal immigrants and more restrictive in immigration policy than those who spoke Spanish at home. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Union formation patterns in the United States have gone through significant changes in the past few decades. Cohabitation has become the most common form of individuals' first unions. Furthermore, there has been an increase in the number of marriages that are preceded by cohabitation. In the early 1990s, most immigrants to the United States were from Europe whereas today, the majority of the current immigrant population is from Latin America or Asia. This influx of immigrants from Latin American has caused Hispanics to be one of the fasting and youngest growing racial/ethnic groups in the United States. Since 1960, the Hispanic population has increased from 4% to 12% in 2000, with a large proportion of immigrants comprising this share of the population. Furthermore, it is projected that this proportion will increase to 25% by 2050. Hispanic immigrants are one of the fastest growing groups, with a large proportion in their late teens and early 20s. Thus, it is important to understand how Hispanic immigrants adapt to the United States and what implications it has on their family formation patterns. Due to the diversity of Hispanics in the United States, it is important to realize that although these groups may share common experiences, caution should be used in generalizing findings from one ethnic group to all Hispanic groups. Using data combined from three waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (Add Health), the prevalence of romantic relationships in adolescence, cohabitation, and marriage is examined by generational status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With immigration becoming at extremely salient issue in the United States, I look to shed some light on how opinion with regard to immigration is formed in America. Using relational social identity theory; I find that increased levels of social dominance in survey respondents result in a decreased support for any increase in immigration rates. Furthermore, an interactive measure of education levels and trade opinion (used as a proxy for SDO) is used to hypothesize a more economic interest-based group identity that creates synthesis between this analysis and previous analyses which have a more economic focus. Group membership identities emerge as an important determinant of immigration opinion, with the relational component of the theory providing a more in depth understanding of opinion formation than previous, non-relational applications of social identity theory have been able to provide. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research uses an empirical case study approach to test alternative explanations for the tenor of major immigration legislation in the United States from 1940 -2002. Specifically, the research tests whether the political party in control of the government, macro-unemployment levels, or major domestic or foreign "events" is the best predictor of the tenor of new legislation. In all, eight pieces of legislation passed are examined: Two laws were intended to liberalize immigration flows and six tendered a reduction in the entry of the foreign-born. The analysis suggests that the event environment best forecasts the tone of new legislation. However, macro-economic performance is likely a primary justification in one instance. Last, the research finds that when liberalizing legislation was passed, all three variables were pulling in the direction of a more open door policy. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The New Immigrant Survey (NIS) is a multi-cohort prospective-retrospective panel survey of new legal immigrants to the United States based on probability samples of administrative records from the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services. A survey pilot project (NIS-P) was carried out in 1996 to test sampling procedures, questionnaire design, and tracking procedures to inform the implementation of the full NIS.The first full cohort (NIS-2003-1) was sampled during May through November of 2003, yielding data on 8,573 Adult Sample respondents, 4,336 spouses, and 1,072 children aged 8-12. The baseline survey was conducted from June 2003 to June 2004. The geographic sampling design takes advantage of the natural clustering of immigrants. It includes all top 85 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) and all top 38 counties, plus a random sample of MSAs and counties. The NIS is a new plan for nationally representative, longitudinal studies of immigrants and their children that promises to provide new kinds of data that will help answer many of the important questions about immigration and concomitantly shed light on basic aspects of human development. The main objective is to provide a public-use database on new legal immigrants to the United States and their children that will be useful for addressing scientific and policy questions about migration behavior and the impacts of migration. The NIS content includes the following information: demographic, health and insurance, migration history, living conditions, transfers, employment history, income, assets, social networks, religion, housing environment, and child assessment tests. At the present, follow-up interviews (NIS-2003-2) are conducted. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the 2004 American National Election Study, I develop models that explore the factors that determine why some Americans support and why some oppose increased immigration. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research allows us to determine if and how the act of crossing the border and shifting from a potential migrant to an actual immigrant changes ones opinion of how the United States treats and welcomes immigrants. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase in "illegal" immigration has predictably resulted in a backlash toward immigrants and current US immigration policy which many consider to be broken. This study seeks to examine the factors shaping American public opinion toward undocumented immigrants and US immigration policy. Current studies on attitudes toward immigration largely consider the role of economic motives, inter-group contact, affect, and symbolic orientations. Each of these studies has advanced our understanding of the factors underlying opinion formation toward immigrants and US immigration policy. However, given data limitations, most have not examined how media framing influences immigration attitudes. Furthermore, since many studies were conducted pre-9/11, we know little about how national security concerns influence attitudes toward immigration. This study overcomes these issues by proposing an experimental design to test the effects of differing frames in shaping public opinion toward undocumented immigrants and immigration policies. Subjects are assigned to one of six conditions: a control group, a national security frame, an economic benefit frame, an economic cost frame, a social instability frame, and a historical tradition frame. We hypothesize that those who receive a positive frame (economic benefits and historical tradition) will have more favorable views towards undocumented immigrants and be more supportive of progressive immigration reform relative to those who receive a negative frame (economic cost, social instability, and national security). We treat each frame separately to see whether some frames carry a stronger effect than others in influencing the ingredients of evaluations and opinions on immigration. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The U.S. southern border is a focal point for important politico-economic developments that determine the status of all working class immigrants of color. First the border has become increasingly militarized against "terrorists" who are actors in the Wars on Terror and Drugs, and the Mexican desire to "reconquer" the Southwest. That is, the ordinary unauthorized entrant is now being treated by policy makers, the public, and vigilante groups as a potential enemy rather than mere criminal. Consequently they are over-policed and their crossing is laden with meaningâ??they are social pollutants, disease carriers, and sexual deviantsâ??all neatly wrapped up in the term "terrorist." Not only are unauthorized entrants subjected to the discourse and policies of war but so are legal residents and naturalized citizens. The second development is olderâ??the Border Industrial Program established in the 1960s as a model of an economic "free zone" and the herald of global economic dynamics. Seemingly in contrast to the militarization of the border, this area has had a history of lax environmental protection, fewer taxes and duties, and perhaps until recently, much fewer worker protections. Pictures of the maquila areas show: shanty towns; piles of rubbish with warning signs; the maquilas themselves, some encircled by barbed wire; and white crosses, marking the rape-murders of hundreds of the maquila workers. This gives a different picture of the borderâ??one that is open to investment and business; a source of labor made "cheap" by the suspension of regulations and laws (or, lack of enforcement); and an area of extreme lawlessness and danger to women.What I suggest is that the dynamics of globalization and what appears to be a sovereignty free area work symbiotically with the dynamics of America's undeclared wars to simultaneously police and exploit working class immigrants of color. Migrants and border workers' political status is closer to that of enemy than citizen. Consequently, they operate in a sphere marked by arbitrary power and violence, whether they actually experience that or not. Predominantly neoliberal policies unite economic and sovereign concerns making Mexican immigrants (among others) a group that can be exploited and policed, treated as crucial to the international economy and yet a threat to sovereignty.This challenges conventional models of assimilation, citizenship, and economic integration (evident in the recent set of articles responding to Huntington in Perspectives). More broadly it disputes the autonomy and range of powers that immigrants are purported to have on the one hand and the primacy of the nation-state in understanding immigration on the other. If these two trends continueâ??a war without borders and a global economy of "free zones"â??political solutions cannot be found in the nation-state but in supra- or sub-national understandings of political belonging (citizenship). ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

September 11, 2001 has established two distinct worlds. The pre-9/11 period was marked by "an optimistic view of the triumph of political and economic liberalism over Communism at the close of the Cold War" (Rudolph, 603), logically prone to a more accepting attitude towards immigration in the industrialized world. However, the post-9/11 world has been defined by "the widespread recognition of the link between military security and the effective control over global migration" (615). This should lead to the prediction that industrialized countries in Europe and North America ought to have engaged in severe restriction policies in the areas of immigration and border policy. In Europe, especially, where two terrorist attacks (London and Madrid) were successfully carried through and linked to migrant communities, one would expect strong restrictive measures. Yet, this does not seem to be the case across the board. Since 2001, the United States and the United Kingdom have engaged in restrictive immigration policies. The Spanish government, however, has not reacted similarly. Thus, the question remains:In the context of a post-9/11 world, how do we explain the there has been no meaningful clamp down at the border in Spain? Why does this state continue to "risk migration" under the pressures of an emerging post-9/11 international security order? ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the year 2000, the Latino population in the United States has increased by over 25%. With the looming presidential election, immigration and immigration reform promises to garner much attention as a highly debated topic. In Philadelphia, the nation's sixth-largest city, census data reveals immigrants from Latin America comprise the largest growing immigrant population in the city. Despite this surge in population, little attention has been paid to the effect of Latino immigration on neighborhood crime rates. It remains unclear whether new immigrants further destabilize inner-city neighborhoods or cause an increase in collective efficacy and a decrease in crime rates. This study will examine the association between neighborhood crime rates and Latino immigration over a 10-year period through the use of data from the census and the Philadelphia Police Department. While traditionally, ecological studies have employed static, cross-sectional designs to investigate neighborhood differences in crime, this study will utilize a dynamic longitudinal design which allows for an investigation of changes both within and between neighborhoods. Additionally, this study will attempt to uncover variations in types of crime committed in neighborhoods with large Latino immigrant populations compared to neighborhoods which have not been affected by this population change. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the definitions provided by the Department of Homeland Security, there are five general categories of non-citizen foreign nationals in the United States: legal immigrants, illegal immigrants, legal non-immigrants, illegal non-immigrants, and undocumented migrants. Available theory provides a framework which suggests that although undocumented migrants have less opportunity for social mobility, their aspirations are lower and more consistent with what might be expected when compared to immigrants and non-immigrants. As such, undocumented migrants might be less likely to engage in criminal behavior. This study uses a cross-sectional design to survey foreign-born participants on their self reported criminal behavior and visa status in order to test whether undocumented migrants are less likely to commit crime when compared to legal immigrants and non-immigrants. If this relationship is empirically validated, this may better inform current discourse about the connection between immigrants and crime, and offer an explanation as to why certain immigrants commit crime. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The New Immigrant Survey (NIS) s a multi-cohort prospective-retrospective panel survey of new legal immigrants to the United States based on probability samples of administrative records from the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services. A survey pilot project (NIS-P) was carried out in 1996 to test sampling procedures, questionnaire design, and tracking procedures to inform the implementation of the full NIS.The first full cohort (NIS-2003-1) was sampled during May through November of 2003, yielding data on 8,573 Adult Sample respondents, 4,336 spouses, and 1,072 children aged 8-12. The baseline survey was conducted from June 2003 to June 2004. The geographic sampling design takes advantage of the natural clustering of immigrants. It includes all top 85 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) and all top 38 counties, plus a random sample of MSAs and counties.The NIS content includes the following information: demographic, health and insurance, migration history, living conditions, transfers, employment history, income, assets, social networks, religion, housing environment, and child assessment tests. At the present, follow-up interviews (NIS-2003-2) are conducted. Purpose:Immigration has a major impact on American society - it accounts for one-third of U.S. population growth, and the United States takes in more immigrants than all other countries combined. In perhaps no other area of public policy is there such a large gap between information needs and existing data. Immigration processes and immigration policy continue to be the subject of much political and scientific debate. What are the contributions and costs of immigrants to the economy? What is the relationship between legal and illegal immigration? What is known about the origins of legal immigrants, how many return to their home countries, and what factors affect their assimilation?The main objective is to provide a public use database on new legal immigrants to the United States that can address scientific and policy questions about migration behavior and the impacts of migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The summer of 1974 and the immediate period after 1974 wasmost critical for modern Greece at many levels: the northern part ofCyprus was invaded by Turkish troops, which much contributed to the fallof the Greek junta; Karamanlis was invited back to Greece from hisself-imposed exile to restore democracy; democracy gained widespreadacceptance in Greece; and the number of Greeks coming to the UnitedStates declined dramatically as a result of Greek democratization andthe better economic conditions, which in part resulted from EuropeanUnion membership. Unlike previous periods, the number of immigrants tothe United States was evenly balanced between men and women, and somefamilies included young children for the first time in Greek immigranthistory. The year 1980 signifies the beginning of declining migration."During the 1980s approximately 2,500 Greeks annually were coming toAmerica. In the 1990s the figure dropped to 1,500. Factoring in theprobable number of returnees, there is no longer any net Greek increasein this country from immigration. Also to be noted, since the 1960s, alow birth rate means the American-born generations have not beenreplacing themselves. With no renewal of immigration in sight and withlittle likelihood ofa rise in the birthrate, the Greek-Americanpopulation will shrink in the years to come." (Moskos, 295). YetGreek-Americans, despite the declining numbers, continue to play a rolein the United States as well as Greece. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How can we think, imagine, and make claims about contemporary refugee politics? I believe this question must precede investigations into struggles/movements advocating rights and political voice for refugees. It is important to come to terms with the changing terrain of refugee politics, in order to (re)conceptualize it and provide some idea of how/where such struggles might be fought. Focusing on the colliding commitments to globalization and security, particularly since September 11, 2001, I argue that "paradox" is a core element of refugee politics. To some extent, this has been researched elsewhere, and I point to the highlights in the existing literature. I suggest that an approach sensitive to Foucault's account of governmentality is particularly helpful, stressing the diffuse networks of power in refugee politics among private and public actors, the increasing role of the internet and some (re)solution to the globalization--domestic security paradox. Examined here are the politics of asylum and refugee movements in the US. In particular, the post 9-11 political climate emphasis on secure Borders, provides an example of the changing terrain of contemporary politics. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The history of the Irish in America is both long and complex, involving the immigration of Protestants and Catholics, skilled laborers and peasants, rebels and farmers. To understand the Irish search for identity, and the identity given to them by others in American society, their motivations to serve the north in the Civil War, and what they hoped to achieved through military service, it is necessary to first become familiar with the generations that preceded them. In doing so, one can examine what the Irish hoped to find in America, how they went about accomplishing their goals, and where they succeeded or failed. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The history of the Irish in America is both long and complex, involving the immigration of Protestants and Catholics, skilled laborers and peasants, rebels and farmers. To understand the Irish search for identity, and the identity given to them by others in American society, their motivations to serve the north in the Civil War, and what they hoped to achieved through military service, it is necessary to first become familiar with the generations that preceded them. In doing so, one can examine what the Irish hoped to find in America, how they went about accomplishing their goals, and where they succeeded or failed. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global increase in international migration has been accompanied by a growing sum of remittances, money sent by migrants to their home countries. In recent years, migrant sending countries and international development and financial institutions have shown an increased interest in the development potential of individual and collective remittances. Thus, a powerful discourse has emerged which hails remittances as an effective source for financing development and poverty reduction. This contribution suggests that we re-situate remittances within the larger context of migration and integration processes in order to consider remittances as one dimension of transnational activity. Considering remittances not in isolation and merely as a sum of money to be harnessed for development, but as embedded in complex transnational activities opens up space for examining the gender dimensions of remittances. Adopting a critical feminist approach, it will be argued that remittance activities generate complex and contradictory social change. Based on fieldwork on transnational activities in the case of Mexican migration to the United States, it will be argued that while remittances activities have disciplining effects for women on the one hand, they can simultaneously lead to various forms of empowerment. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An example of the North-South divide can be found in the Mexico-U.S. relationship. On one hand, there is a developing country with a democratic political system still to be consolidated. On the other hand, there is the U.S., considered the sole surviving superpower and an old democracy as well. This is an asymmetric relationship. Nevertheless, there are issues like drug trafficking, immigration, free trade, and security in which these countries find that it is also a relationship hinged on interdependency. First, I will contrast the decision making processes in foreign policy between Mexico and the United States to show the inner workings. Second, I will study how the search for an immigration agreement underlines the interdependency in this relationship and the mutual lack of accurate knowledge between both parts. In conclusion, it is not the common history or the different models of decision making what makes cooperation so difficult between Mexico and the United States, but their mutual misperceptions. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, Mexico has not only consolidated itself as the main country of origin of migrants attempting to get to the United States, but it has also become an important country of trans-migration for Central American (and other) migrants who intend to cross through its territory in order to get to the United States. This has important consequences for both Mexican and American migratory policies and it poses new security challenges for both countries. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examines the impact of associational participation of migrants on their political integration in the US, by testing the social capital argument that participation in voluntary organizations is beneficial for political engagement. In the first part of the research I will identify the migration patterns within the Latin American countries and the effects that such patterns have on the initial construction of social capital. The migration to the United States of America implies certain changes in the structure of the social capital, initially affecting the family construction and extending further to broader networks of social reciprocity. By identifying the effects those changes might have at the level of the Latino community, I will discuss the potential and the interest of the latter in making a significant contribution to the American politics through civic engagement. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines how neighborhood- and metropolitan-level racial heterogeneity relates to American public opinion toward immigrants and immigration policies. Using two sets of national survey data and the 2000 U.S. Census, we find that proximity to foreign-born residents corresponds to public attitudes toward immigration differently, depending on race and geographic unit: non-Hispanic white Americans living in neighborhoods populated by foreign-born people, particularly Asians, are more likely to be tolerant of immigrants, whereas both non-Hispanic whites and African Americans in the metropolis with a sizable number of immigrants (especially Latinos) are more likely to be prejudiced. Also, whites living in racially diverse neighborhoods are more likely to oppose strict qualifications for the legal status of immigrants, although they do not necessarily support liberal immigration policies. These findings suggest the significance of racial desegregation, which may facilitate interactions between native-born and immigrants, in alleviating interethnic tension in contemporary multiracial America. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]