Immigrant Integration Research Articles

People in contact, languages in contact. A multi-group analysis of the effects of interethnic contact on acculturation attitudes

ABSTRACT The present study aims to enhance previous knowledge on the role of interethnic contact as a tool to improve the linguistic integration of immigrants in bilingual receiving societies. We examined the effect of interethnic contact on natives’ support for immigrants’ language maintenance as well as on immigrants’ attitudes towards natives’ languages (in addition to L1 identification). The study was conducted in western Catalonia (Lleida), a region with a delicate sociolinguistic situation where two official languages coexist with several immigrant languages. Using a sample of 549 high school students, we carried out a series of regression analyses to estimate the average effect of interethnic contact and the relative importance of the different types of contact. The results obtained show a clear positive impact of interethnic contact on the integrative acculturation of immigrants: it enhances natives’ support for immigrants’ language maintenance, while also improving immigrants’ attitudes towards the natives’ languages (with no subtractive language effect). However, interethnic contact does not seem to help when the social status of the immigrant group is low. Implications for multilingual development in ethnically diverse societies are discussed.

GEÇİCİ KORUMA STATÜSÜ ALTINDAKI SURİYELİLERİN ENTEGRASYONUNU VE REFAHINI ARTIRMADA YEREL YÖNETİMLERİN ROLÜ: ADANA BÜYÜKŞEHİR BELEDİYESİ ÖRNEĞİ

This study examines the impact of the Syrian civil war on Türkiye, specifically the migration of Syrians to Türkiye and the legal and institutional arrangements made for their temporary protection. Initially, Syrian immigrants settled in camps along the Syrian border, but they were later allowed to reside outside the camps, leading to their integration into Turkish society. The study analyzes the legal and institutional arrangements for Syrians under temporary protection status and the services provided by the Adana Metropolitan Municipality. The role of local governments in migration policies and the financing of services for immigrants are also explored. The strategic plan and activity reports of the Adana Metropolitan Municipality are analyzed to understand the various projects undertaken by the municipality in collaboration with international stakeholders to improve the integration and social and economic welfare of immigrants.
 The findings of the study show that the Adana Metropolitan Municipality has implemented numerous initiatives to support the integration of Syrian immigrants into Turkish society. These initiatives include education and vocational training programs, health services, and social support programs. The study also emphasizes the importance of local government involvement in migration policies and the need for adequate funding to ensure that essential services are provided to immigrants.

Surviving in the Digital Space: Digital Literacy of Syrian Immigrants in Turkey

Turkey is one of the countries hosting the largest number of Syrian immigrants in the world. Integration
 of Syrian immigrants is one of the problems Turkey has to overcome. Many studies around the world
 show that digital communication tools can be used effectively by immigrants in many integration processes
 such as language learning, learning about culture and socialization. In this study, which was carried out
 as a project of The Scientific And Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK), we aimed to
 determine the digital literacy levels of Syrian immigrants, which is a prerequisite for their integration by
 using digital tools. We applied a digital literacy scale adapted to Arabic to Syrian immigrants. The study,
 which was conducted both online and face-to-face, investigated the general digital literacy status of Syrian
 immigrants and their digital literacy levels according to variables such as gender, age, education level,
 income level, access to the internet, and Turkish citizenship status. Both at the general level and at the level
 of all variables, the digital literacy of Syrian immigrants was determined to be “Below Average / Weak”.
 Especially in European countries, public policies have started to be established to increase the digital literacy
 levels of isolated groups such as immigrants. In order to overcome the immigrant integration problem in
 Turkey through digital communication, public policies should be established to increase the digital literacy
 levels of immigrants.

Current Situation and Future Development of Education for Children in Ecological Migrant Areas in Ningxia

The issue of ecological migration has been concerned for a long time. As one of the first regions to implement ecological migration projects, Ningxia has a special multi-ethnic population, and its education problems cannot be ignored. From the perspective of schools, this paper analyses the current situation of exclusion and isolation of new immigrant children in schools and the lack of holistic education for children. From the perspective of families, it analyses the situation of parents of new immigrants having low expectations for their childrens education and the situation of educational differences due to different ethnic beliefs. The paper positively puts forward the ideas that teachers are expected to teach their students according to their abilities; school is ought to strengthen its infrastructure, obey the rules and regulations in the society and provide extensive training for teachers. Moreover, it is necessary to quicken the social integration of new immigrants and residents. It is hoped that with the implementation of these measures can accelerate the progress of friendly relations between indigenous people and new migrants and provide a good educational environment for children.

Religious Diversity, Islam, and Integration in Western Europe—Dissecting Symbolic, Social, and Institutional Boundary Dynamics

Religious diversity and, in particular, the presence of Islam is often perceived as a threat to national solidarity and social cohesion across Western Europe. Reviewing and synthesizing compartmentalized research literature on religion and immigrant integration, this article scrutinizes symbolic, social, and institutional boundary processes and their underlying micro-level mechanisms. First, it showcases the relative brightness of religiously coded symbolic boundaries that is sustained by anti-Muslim prejudices among the majority as well as by the intergenerational transmission of Muslim religiosity. Second, it discusses whether and how religious differences translate into social boundaries, through both discrimination and religiously based (self-)segregation on the labor market, in education, and in social networks. Third, it traces how interactive sequences of Muslims’ claims for recognition and public policy responses have led to institutional boundary shifts under the influence of constitutional law and European human rights and anti-discrimination directives. The article concludes by discussing scenarios of how macro-level processes of symbolic, social, and institutional boundary transformation interrelate, thus raising broader questions on religious diversity and integration in Western European nation-states.

Понятие интеграция мигрантов в российских концепциях миграционной политики: к вопросу о концептуальных основах

Attempts to conceptualize the integration of migrants in society regularly face criticism within the academic community; the term integration does not have a generally accepted definition. The article offers an analysis of Russian migrants integration policy. The purpose of the study is to clarify the meaning of the term integration, as well as to compare integration theories with practical measures of immigrant integration. The authors define the concept of integration, explore its conceptual foundations, and shed light on some contradictions of its use in political discourse and scientific literature. The concept of integration is defined as the inclusion of an individual in a certain host community’s social ties structure. Using the content analysis method, the article considers the place of integration concept in the fundamental documents of the Russian immigration policy. The authors conclude that the Russian integration policy has its faults. There is a gap between the integration policy and the realities of the migrants' existence, which prevents the effective inclusion of migrants in Russian society. Solving the problem requires close cooperation between various actors of migration policy, including non-profit civil organizations.

A liberalizing effect of happiness? The impact of improvements and deteriorations in different dimensions of subjective well-being on concerns about immigration

Abstract High levels of concerns about immigration pose a threat to the successful integration of immigrants and may even destabilize heterogeneous societies. This study assesses the mechanisms underlying the association between subjective well-being and concerns about immigration. The analyses rely on the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (1999-2017), a long-running data set that follows individuals over time with a total of 60,319 respondents and 329,556 person-year observations. Individuals who are on average more satisfied with their income, housing situation, and life overall are less concerned about consequences stemming from immigration. The impact of changes in subjective well-being reaches beyond the influence of objective well-being; moreover, if the same individuals become less satisfied with any one of these life dimensions, their concerns about immigration increase. In turn, an increase in satisfaction is followed by a decline of immigration-based concerns. These results imply that political measures that strengthen resilience and foster coping mechanisms are critical to reducing concerns about immigration, cultivating societal integration.

Religion, Social Resources, and International Migrants’ Volunteer Participation: Evidence from Yiwu City, China

A large body of research has explored various factors influencing volunteer participation, particularly revealing the association between religious beliefs and volunteer engagement. However, there was relatively limited research on volunteer participation among international immigrants in China, a newly emerging immigrant country. Further investigation was needed to identify the factors influencing the volunteer engagement of international immigrants in China and the underlying mechanisms. This study analyzed data from international immigrants in Yiwu, China and found that their volunteer behavior was significantly influenced by their religious beliefs. Additionally, social resources were closely related to their volunteer participation. Furthermore, although perceived discrimination among international immigrants in China was not directly associated with volunteer participation, it promoted their religious participation and frequency, consequently encouraging their volunteer engagement. Further analysis also revealed two mechanisms through which religion impacted volunteer participation. On the one hand, religious beliefs influenced volunteer participation through the mechanism of religious indoctrination. On the other hand, though perceived discrimination among international immigrants did not directly influence volunteer participation, it did encourage them to engage in religious meetings to establish social networks for support, thereby enriching their social resources and subsequently promoting volunteer engagement. We discussed the implications of our findings for encouraging volunteer participation and for promoting the social integration of international immigrants.

Immigration and Cultural Integration in Canada: Historical Perspective, Current Realities, and Future Outlook

This paper aims to conduct an in-depth study on the history, current situation, and future prospects of immigration and multicultural integration in Canada. Firstly, by analyzing the evolution of Canada's multicultural policies and the influencing factors, the roots of the attractiveness of this policy system to immigrant communities are revealed. Secondly, it delves into the continuous integration and development of immigrants in Canadian society, highlighting their positive impact on the economic, social, and cultural domains, emphasizing the benefits of multicultural integration. Building on this foundation, through field research and case studies, successful practices of multicultural integration in areas such as education and healthcare are highlighted, providing valuable experiences for other countries. Simultaneously, the paper objectively analyzes the challenges faced by multicultural integration and proposes corresponding policy recommendations and solutions. Finally, by comparing and studying cases from other countries, it summarizes the successful experiences of the Canadian model, offering valuable insights for global multicultural integration.

이주배경 청소년의 정치적 관여에 대한 유럽 17개국 비교연구

Most prior research has viewed the political engagement of immigrant-origin adolescents as an individual decision. However, we know that policy efforts to integrate immigrants into society can motivate immigrant-origin adolescents to engage in the host country’s political system. This article indicates that the host country’s policy context surrounding immigrant integration can influence immigrant-origin adolescents’ discussion of political issues and interest in politics in the host country over and above their individual and family attributes. To assess this relationship, we combine the 2009 International and Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) with the 2007 Migration Integration Policy Index (MIPEX). Our hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) meta analyses of 17 European countries show that in countries with more inclusive integration policies, immigrant-origin adolescents are substantially more likely to participate in political discussions and become interested in politics than their native peers. In particular, the inclusiveness of the legal-political dimension of immigrant integration policy appears to exert a strong influence on the political engagement of first-generation adolescents, while the inclusiveness of the socioeconomic dimension of immigrant integration policy, especially immigrant education policy, emerges as a key predictor for the political engagement of second-generation adolescents. Based on our findings, we also discuss theoretical and policy implications.

Language as an agent of integration: the case study of Romanian immigrants in Belgium

ABSTRACT Among the most important sociocultural phenomena of contemporary global societies, immigration brings significant changes to all areas of immigrants’ life (family, profession, and quality of life), impacting their cultural identities, including identity associated with their language use. As migrants need to be understood in the languages they are proficient in, receive instruction in the destination language, and access essential services understandable to them, language becomes an indispensable agent of migration. In this context, our paper examines the impact of migration on the linguistic behaviour of immigrants, and recognising the pivotal role of language in facilitating the integration of immigrants into host societies. The study focuses on the circumstances Romanian immigrants within Belgium’s multilingual milieu, illustrating the dimensions of the identity crisis they grapple with. Data analysis has shown that migration generates consistent changes regarding the immigrants’ linguistic behaviour, driven, on the one hand, by their desire to be integrated in the host country and, on the other hand, by their attachment to the cultural heritage values of their country of origin.

The contribution of informal learning in the integration process of immigrants into the labour market: Individual and organisational perspectives in selected sectors

AbstractIn Germany and Canada, the integration of immigrants into the labour market is closely related to the various approaches towards the recognition and validation of informal learning. This paper aims to analyse the informal learning measures undertaken by immigrants as well as those offered by employers in the health and information and communication technology sectors during the labour market integration process. The study focused on nurses as well as IT project managers and programmers. The comparison focuses on the occurrence and quality of the four dimensions of the dynamic model of informal learning from an individual and an organisation perspective. The results show similarities between these two perspectives regarding the relevance of the four dimensions in the integration of immigrants into the labour market. In addition, clear differences between the two investigated sectors as well as country‐specific differences appear.

Who's to blame for failed integration of immigrants? Blame attributions as an affectively polarizing force in lay discussions of immigration in Finland

AbstractIncreasing expression of antagonism toward immigrants has turned immigration into one of the most polarizing issues in many countries, among them Finland, dividing people into those who favor and those who oppose immigration. But while affective polarization of the kind exemplified by widespread responses to immigration has recently received increasing attention from political psychologists, little attention has been paid to how affective polarization develops through the mutual reinforcement of opposing discourses. The application of critical discursive psychology to interviews with lay Finns reveals this mutual reinforcement in progress. In our interviews, Finns across the political spectrum construct five subject positions by attributing blame for immigration‐related challenges. Both sides blame some “other” for the challenges while exempting themselves from blame. Our study makes three contributions to political psychology: exploring how blame attribution helps to generate affective polarization, illustrating the ability of (critical) discursive psychology to illuminate processes of affective polarization in individuals, and bringing the concept of affective polarization drawn from survey research into dialogue with the concept of subject positions constructed by blame attribution drawn from discursive studies of populism.

Will the gap ever be bridged? A cross-national comparison of non-native students’ educational achievements

A crucial element in evaluating the success of immigrant integration policies is to compare the school performances of immigrant students with that of natives. According to large-scale international assessments, immigrant students tend to underperform their native peers even after controlling for socioeconomic conditions, with relevant differences depending on countries’ migration histories. This article analyses the evolution in the skills gap between native students and students with an immigrant background by comparing traditional (France, Germany, and the United Kingdom) and new immigration countries (Italy and Spain) using data collected from the Program for International Student Assessment survey from 2009 to 2018. We model students’ learning outcomes in mathematics and reading in a multilevel setting by clustering students at the high school level. This approach allows us to compare countries’ relative performances concerning the immigrant integration process by accounting for the role played by high schools and students’ backgrounds. Results show that the differences between native and immigrant students in both sets of countries are narrowing but still present.

City Branding and Intercultural Heritage in Amadora, Portugal

ABSTRACT The Portuguese city of Amadora hosts the first national registry of an immigrant Intangible Cultural Heritage to this day: the Kola San Jon celebration in the self-built neighbourhood of Alto da Cova da Moura. Many other practices, events, manifestations, and arts could be recognised as immigrant cultural heritage in this city, yet only a few are indeed recognised and supported by the municipality. Through the analysis of four ‘vignettes’, I suggest that municipalities shape a soft policy for immigrant integration by harnessing such apolitical, folklore traditions celebrated by the various immigrant groups present in the city as part of its city branding strategy and policy internationalisation. In other words, cultural heritage is exploited to serve purposes other than communal tradition, to promote the city’s profile. To that aim, this article examines local migrant cultural heritage policies in relation to urban development using the concept of ‘intercultural heritage’ as a critique. By intercultural heritage, I mean heritage practices that are adopted by public institutions to rebrand and legitimise their immigration agenda in cities with a very heterogenous demographic.

The development of host language achievement gaps by migration background during primary school: A path model of educational inequalities

AbstractEducation is key to the structural integration of immigrants and their children. While research indicates that educational inequalities by migration background are a serious issue, relatively little is known about when, how and why they develop. The current paper adds to the literature by investigating to what extent achievement gaps by migration background develop during the primary school period. Drawing on data from a national longitudinal study of children in Ireland (N = 7577) and using structural equation modelling, it presents a path model of host language achievement. The results indicate that a large part of the disadvantages in English language achievement by migration background during primary school could be attributed to achievement gaps that already existed before school. Moreover, given earlier achievement, the effect of having a migration background was often insignificant or even positive, suggesting that disparities remain relatively stable or even decrease during the period of formal schooling.

Immigrant Integration in the United States: The Role of Adult English Language Training

The ability to speak and understand a host country’s primary language is strongly associated with measures of immigrant integration. We estimate the causal effects of English language training for adult immigrants on participants’ civic and economic outcomes using randomized enrollment lotteries from a public adult education program in Massachusetts. Participation doubles voter participation and increases annual earnings by $2,400 (56 percent). Increased tax revenue from earnings gains cover program costs over time, generating a 6 percent return for taxpayers. Ours is the first randomized evaluation of adult English language training as a standalone intervention in the United States. (JEL D72, H75, I21, I26, J15, J24, J31)

Identity Integration of Afghan Immigrants in Iran: A Grounded Theory Study

Introduction: Iran has hosted foreign immigrants, mostly Afghans and Iraqis, for the past four decades. The number of Afghan refugees registered by the UN Refugee Agency in 2021, shows that among different countries, Iran is the second destination of Afghan refugees after Pakistan. One of the key aspects of immigrants' lives that changes in the context of life and residence in the host community is identity. Identity is an important element in the process of immigrant integration, reflecting the sense of belonging or alienation from the culture of host society by the migrant. This paper aims to explore the identity integration among the first- and second-generation Afghan immigrants in Iran. Method: The research has been conducted within the framework of a constructivist approach and a Grounded Theory research method. The sampling method was purposeful and snowball. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 45 participants in the cities of Yazd and Tehran. The theoretical coding method was used to analyze the research date. Findings: Findings indicate eight main categories including fear of identity expression, Iranian identification, identity concealment, identity crisis, comparison with Iranian peers, sense of belonging to ethnic identity, and comparison with Afghan peers were extracted. By summarizing the main categories, "identity purgatory" was obtained as the final core category. Discussion: According to the results of our field study, it can be concluded that the process of identity integration is not an intergenerational process for Afghan migrants, but it depends mainly on how migrants form their interpersonal interactions at the micro, intermediate and macro levels. Another challenge for immigrants is that they are unable to develop their different social identities in a way that allows them to affirm both their own ethnic as well as destination national identities.

The Limitations and Challenges of the Reception for Immigrants and Refugees in the City of Dourados-MS

This work aims to present the limits and challenges for the reception and integration of immigrants in the city of Dourados, federative unit of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, in the context of Operation Welcome and international migrations in the region. Through document analysis and national and international bibliographic survey, the socioeconomic data of the Municipality and the demands of immigrants in the area are presented, particularly the dynamics of infrastructure and education. It is concluded that the gaps in terms of Portuguese classes, reception infrastructure and bureaucratic procedures for school integration are still very evident challenges in this specific municipality in Brazil.

Success as self-determination: a subject-centred analysis of immigrants’ definitions and perceptions of success

ABSTRACT What does it mean for an immigrant to be successful? Significant research on immigrant integration and success has utilised ‘objective’ measures – such as income, educational attainment, and occupation – to evaluate immigrant (group) success and attainment. But those measures often do not capture details of immigrants’ lived experiences nor their own perceptions of success. We explore this dissonance between objective and subjective understandings of immigrant success by analysing how 46 immigrants describe and evaluate their own and other immigrants’ success. Almost universally, interviewees referenced self-determination – the ability to determine their own circumstances – as the essential component of success. Within this general notion of success, interviewees weigh their current situations against the past to find relative improvements in their self-determination compared to their pre-migration conditions (‘relative self-determination’); see evidence of self-determination in their present circumstances (‘evident self-determination’); and/or foresee their investments in self-determination paying off for descendants in the future (‘prospective self-determination’). Defining success as self-determination creates a broadly flexible and accommodating framework that sets-up success, rather than failure, as the default outcome. Because perceiving oneself as successful can positively affect an individual’s life, accomplishments, and self-esteem, defining success as self-determination may produce meaningful and lasting improvements in immigrants’ and others’ lives.