Immigration Issues Research Articles

Is Undocumented Immigration a Gain or a Drain? A Socioeconomic Analysis of the United States’ Most Contested Immigration Issue

Is Undocumented Immigration a Gain or a Drain? A Socioeconomic Analysis of the United States’ Most Contested Immigration Issue

Reflection on the Impact of Distance Project-Based Learning Experiences on Students' Engagement and Regional Cultural Sensitivity on STEM Education

The contentious immigration issues through generations the US-Mexico border are not only beneficial to the United States economy but, also, this immigrant population of unaccompanied children and families from South America and Mexico contributes to the American culture by sharing their cultural traditions, family values, religious beliefs, language (Spanish), etc. and agricultural expertise as (Norman, 2018). The National Center for Farmworker Health (NCFH) (2020) reported that there are least 2.5 to 3 million agricultural workers in the United States, and these workers travel and work throughout the country, serving as the backbone for the vast farming industry in which 19% identify as migratory, while 81% are seasonal agricultural workers. This agency stated that 75% of these workers were born in Mexico, Central America, 83% self-identified as Hispanic, and 77% were most comfortable conversing in Spanish in which 30% could not speak English at all, 41% could speak a little or somewhat English, and 29% said they could speak English well (NCFH, 2020, p. 1). As an ESL science and math teacher to this immigrant student population starting in the early 80s, 90s, and early 2003, I included their regional cultural differences, traditions, family values, rituals, etc. in developing my science and math curriculum & materials; and used the inquiry project-based learning approach in teaching them Integrated Science and Math courses in the classroom settings by guiding the students in designing and building their scientific models from scrap which they built together in the classroom as group projects. Misher (2014) defined Project-Based Learning (PBL) as an instructional approach designed to encourage more engaged learning, and this learning approach is based upon realistic learning activities that stimulate student interest and motivation. In this perspective, this reflection seeks to highlight the effect of project-based learning on STEM students' engagement and regional cross-cultural sensitivity development in public school and higher education. In doing so, (A) I define and explain the following constructs: (1) distance learning, (2) project-based learning, (3) STEM education, (4) transformational learning and teaching, (5) regional cultural differences, (6) regionalism in Latin America, (7) regionalism and globalization; (B) describe scientific model building activity as cross-cultural transformational learning; (C) review pertinent literature on the topic; and lastly, (D) draw my conclusion on the topic.

Evaluation Strategies and Tactics of immigration Issues in Social Media Discourse

The article is aimed at studying the main evaluation strategies and tactics through contextual analysis of immigration problems in the British social media discourse. The article considers evaluation as a cognitive-pragmatic phenomenon and identifies it as a powerful means of persuasion for manipulating public opinion. The commutative strategies and tactics are defined as the main tools to achieve the author’s pragmatic intention and the goal. Thus, it has become relevant to identify what evaluation strategies and tactics the author uses to highlight immigration issues in British society. As a result, the diversity of examples allows us to conclude that a key evaluation strategy of British media discourse that presents the immigration issues is a strategy of disapproval, expressed through the tactics of a recognition of the existence of the problem, accusation, reproach, discredit, misunderstanding, doubt, indication of the future, disagreement and distancing that imply negative evaluation.

PERCEPÇÕES DE FILHOS DE IMIGRANTES SOBRE O AUXÍLIO AOS SEUS PAIS E FAMILIARES EM UM CURSO DE PORTUGUÊS PARA ESTRANGEIROS

Este artigo tem como objetivo identificar as percepções de dois filhos de imigrantes (um paquistanês e uma venezuelana) residentes em Brasília quanto à própria vivência no Brasil, à língua de acolhimento e ao auxílio aos pais e responsáveis em sala de aulas de português como língua adicional. A discussão teórica com temas da questão linguística do Brasil, imigração e bilinguismo foi desenvolvida com base nas obras de McNamara (1967), Grosjean (1982), Henriques (2000), Bolognini e Payer (2005), Megale (2005), Rodrigues, Strey e Pereira (2007), Flores (2009), Cabete (2010), Grosso (2011), Becker e Borges (2015), Cruz (2017), entre outros. Foi feita uma pesquisa qualitativa de natureza exploratória na forma de um estudo de caso (MEIRINHOS; OSÓRIO, 2010; YIN, 2001). Para tanto, os instrumentos de pesquisa para o presente estudo foram escolhidos, como segue: a observação não participante e a entrevista semiestruturada. Como resultado, foi revelado que os participantes reconheceram que o Brasil apresenta uma vasta diferença em termos socioculturais e de religião, possuindo um sentimento afetivo quanto ao seu país natal. Cabe ressaltar, também, que eles ainda estão no processo de desenvolver as quatro habilidades linguísticas da língua de acolhimento e estão vivenciando uma nova experiência por meio do processo de auxílio aos pais e familiares no contexto educacional.

From Xenophobia to Enlightenment amidst Transculturation: Rereading of Monica Ali’s In the Kitchen

The chronicle of human migration is as old as human civilization which goes back to prehistoric time when it started flourishing in ancient Africa. The main cause behind such migrations is to have a greater opportunity for life which enfolds economic, political, social and demographic factors. But, in the course of time, the immigration has gradually become a challenging issue since it has deep-rooted connection with culture and identity. The entire process involves alienation, loss, anxiety, insecurity in the minds of the immigrants as well as the indigenous people. The present study will showcase the effect of globalization and modernization on the nations and their subjects keeping in mind the burning issue of immigration across the globe. In order to have a better understanding of one’s individuation process, the present paper will address sociological, psychological, and multicultural issues against the backdrop of xenophobia as depicted by Monica Ali in her third novel In the Kitchen. But the main focus of the present study is to demonstrate how it affects and helps in rebuilding the identity of those belonging originally to the homeland.

Beyond the boundaries. Migration discourse in EU parliamentary debates

Immigration has emerged as a prevalent political issue throughout the entire European Union over the past few years. Hardly a day goes by without news stories of people fleeing the Middle East and Northern Africa to reach the shores of Europe, or without an act of violence, the emergence of a new association or political party, or debates on policy initiatives taken by EU Member States. In this respect, and in ways which were almost completely ‘unexpected’ some years ago, nearly every single aspect of political discussion has been affected by the issue of immigration. In every European country new movements have emerged, anti-immigrant political parties have obtained electoral advances and have altered the balance of political forces. This new balance has influenced policy changes in the EU as Members States have attempted to deal with the challenges that threaten understandings, agreements, social policy and the political and social construction of Europe itself. By adopting CDA (Fairclough 1995, 2013; van Dijk 1984; Wodak 1997) and Zapata-Barrero’s distinction between re-active and pro-active discourse (2007), this work analyses a corpus of EU parliamentary debates on migration. The aim was to ascertain whether and to what extent the interventions taken into consideration negatively react against the process of integration and multiculturalism resulting from the arrival of migrants or whether they instead positively accompany the process and consider it a historic opportunity and not a threat. The ad hoc corpus, which covers a time span of three years – from 2016 to 2018 – will be investigated both quantitatively and qualitatively in order to identify the most frequent lexemes and their co-occurring patterns of usage along with the most recurrent or relevant phraseology in the verbatim reports. The interventions under scrutiny deal with migration issues, such as the flow of migrants legally or illegally entering the EU, asylum seekers, undocumented residents, borders and boundaries, thus allowing for the exploration of re-active and pro-active discourse constructions and of the strategies of legitimation used by MPs who try to demonstrate that their policies and actions towards immigration are legitimate, and executed within the boundaries and barriers of moral order and correct procedures (van Leeuwen, Wodak 1999; van Leeuwen 2007).

Políticas públicas educacionais para imigrantes e refugiados:

O objetivo desse artigo é analisar o tema dos imigrantes e refugiados como um desafio para as políticas públicas educacionais, considerando que estas podem ser ferramentas para minimizar a discriminação e apoiar a inserção social. Após a introdução, apresenta-se um mapeamento da realidade dos imigrantes no Brasil e, de forma mais detalhada, no Rio Grande do Sul, delineando o seu perfil. Aborda-se, então, dois enfoques distintos, porém complementares: políticas públicas educacionais integrativas e educação para a cidadania e inclusão. Ademais faz-se considerações sobre o papel da Defensoria Pública daUnião na Educação em Direitos voltada ao empoderamento do imigrante e do refugiado como fator definitivo para o seu real acolhimento. Nas considerações finais destacou-se a relevância do capital social e cultural dos migrantes como gerador de novos valores para o contexto que o acolhe.

Sweden’s immigrant integration policy: the role of language

The increase in migration flows in 2010–2011 and 2015–2016 has brought the issue of immigrants’ integration in European countries to a qualitatively new level. The integration of immigrants and refugees is one of the central topics in academic and political discourses. This essay presents short analysis of the Swedish language policy towards integration of immigrants and refugees. The importance of this topic is determined by the fact that language is one of the instruments of inclusion in the host society.

Undocumented immigration and terrorism: Is there a connection?

Unauthorized immigration, already a divisive and controversial subject in American society, was reframed as a grave national security threat after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Yet, despite substantial public, political and policy attention to the issue of undocumented immigration and terrorism, there has been relatively little empirical assessment of the relationship between unauthorized immigration flows and terrorist activity. We attempt to fill this gap by combining newly developed estimates of the unauthorized population, a novel use of sentencing and prosecutorial data to measure terrorism-related activity, and multiple data sources on the criminological, socioeconomic, and demographic context from all 50 states from 1990 to 2014. We then leverage this unique dataset to examine the longitudinal, macro-level relationship between undocumented immigration and various measures of terrorism. Results from fixed effects negative binomial models suggest that increased undocumented immigration over this period is not associated with terrorist attacks, radicalization, or terrorism prosecutions.

Do Threats Galvanize Authoritarians or Mobilize Non-Authoritarians? Experimental Tests from 19 European Societies

Authoritarian predispositions and contextual threats are both thought to produce intolerance and prejudice towards immigrants and other minorities. Yet there is considerable dispute as to how they interact to produce an “authoritarian dynamic.” Some scholars argue that threats in- crease intolerance by “galvanizing” authoritarians. Others claim that authoritarians are always intolerant toward outgroups, with threat instead “mobilizing” non-authoritarians. Using experimental manipulations of immigrant cultural threat embedded in nationally-representative samples from 19 European societies, this study offers a test of these competing hypotheses. While we find some evidence for the “galvanizing” hypothesis, we find no evidence for the “mobilizing” hypothesis. The effects vary considerably across national samples however, with immigrants from Muslim societies being particularly likely to activate authoritarian predispositions. These findings show how the migration of culturally distinctive groups has the potential to activate authoritarian dispositions, thereby pushing the issue of immigration to the center of political debates.

Do Threats Galvanize Authoritarians or Mobilize Nonauthoritarians? Experimental Tests from 19 European Societies

Authoritarian predispositions and contextual threats are both thought to result in intolerance and prejudice towards immigrants and other minorities. Yet there is considerable dispute as to how authoritarianism and threat interact to produce an “authoritarian dynamic.” Some scholars argue that threats increase intolerance by “galvanizing” authoritarians. Others claim that authoritarians are always intolerant toward outgroups, with threat instead “mobilizing” nonauthoritarians. Using experimental manipulations of immigrant cultural threat embedded in nationally representative samples from 19 European societies, this study offers a test of these competing hypotheses. While we find some evidence for the “galvanizing” hypothesis, we find no evidence for the “mobilizing” hypothesis. The effects vary considerably across national samples however, with immigrants from Muslim societies being particularly likely to activate authoritarian predispositions. These findings show how the migration of culturally distinctive groups has the potential to activate authoritarian dispositions, thereby pushing the issue of immigration to the center of political debates.

Legalizing Street Vending in Los Angeles: Reframing a Movement during the Fourth Wave of Feminism

Street vending was criminalized in the city of Los Angeles since the 1930s. The Los Angeles Street Vendor Campaign (LASVC) utilized several framing tactics over the last several years in order to mobilize participants to decriminalize and legalize the profession of street vending. This article applies frame alignment theory to illustrate how the LASVC reached its goals. This case study utilizes qualitative interviews of key players in the LASVC movement and a content analysis of LASVC’S Facebook page to document their push toward decriminalization over the course of 1 year. The LASVC transformed their narrative from issues of immigration and labor rights and reframed street vending as a women’s justice issue. By doing so, the LASVC extended the boundaries of their frames to incorporate the voices of women of color whose online and on-the-ground efforts to mobilize a larger population manifested during an era of the fourth wave feminism.

Mainstream Sell-Outs? How Collaboration with the Radical Right Changes Perceptions of Party Positions on Immigration

AbstractEuropean mainstream right parties are increasingly choosing to include radical right parties in coalition governments or other types of stable and committed cooperation. How does this cooperation affect voters’ perceptions of party positions? This article examines whether coalition signals have a significant impact on voters’ perceptions of the specific policy issues that were at stake in the bargaining process. More specifically, does the issue ownership of the radical right cause voters to perceive mainstream parties as radicalizing on immigration issues pertaining to asylum and multiculturalism? I compare the perceptions of Dutch parties before and after two coalition formations that (formally and informally) involved a radical right party: the coalition with the List Pim Fortuyn in 2002 and the support agreement with the Freedom Party in 2010. Furthermore, I examine the long-term effects of the Danish mainstream right government's reliance on the support of the radical right Danish People's Party in 2001–11.

“Bad hombres” at the Southern US border? White nationalism and the perceived dangerousness of immigrants

As a candidate and as president, Donald Trump heightened the salience of immigration, portraying those crossing the nation’s Southern border as “bad hombres” and advocating building a wall blocking their access to the United States from Mexico. Based on a 2019 MTurk study of 465 White adults, the current study found that a clear majority of respondents rejected this stereotype of Southern immigrants as “bad hombres,” judging them to be just as law-abiding as Americans. Importantly, however, the analysis revealed that two innovative measures—Hispanic resentment and, in particular, White nationalism—were consistently related to perceptions of immigrants as criminogenic. Given the growing demographic diversity of the United States, future research should consider the increasing influence of racial/ethnic resentment and White group identity on public opinions about immigration and other justice issues.

The issue of immigrants from the republics of the former Yugoslavia in Slovenia in the publications of the journal Dve Domovini / Two Homelands (1990–2020)

The issue of immigrants from the republics of the former Yugoslavia in Slovenia in the publications of the journal Dve Domovini / Two Homelands (1990–2020) In our review, we turned to the publications of the scientific journal “Dve domovini / Two Homelands”, the only publication in Slovenia that specializes in global and multidisciplinary migration research. The focus of our attention is on the works investigating the problems of immigrants from the republics of the former Yugoslavia in Slovenia and, in particular, the literature of immigrant authors over the entire period of the journal's existence, from 1990 to the present.

Chinese Illicit Immigration into Colonial Hong Kong, c. 1970–1980

ABSTRACT The post-1945 influx of Chinese immigrants from Mainland China put a strain on colonial Hong Kong’s limited housing stock and under-developed welfare and education systems. In response, the colonial government introduced a ‘Touch Base’ policy in 1974. Thereafter, all Chinese immigrants who failed to ‘touch base’, that is, reach urban areas of Hong Kong, faced repatriation. This article examines the origins and effects of the ‘Touch Base’ policy, focusing on how Sino-British relations and the anti-immigration discourse in Hong Kong affected policy-making, and vice versa. It argues that the policy change, a product of a new form of Sino-British diplomacy, was underpinned by popular hostility towards Chinese immigrants. The article further argues that this policy shift also reinforced the emergent differentiation between the Hong Kong Chinese and Mainland Chinese immigrants amongst the Hong Kong population. Hitherto, historians have explored the issue of post-1945 immigration using archival sources from the early Cold War period, but have not traced the origins of the anti-immigrant rhetoric that continues to be felt today.

From perceived polarization of immigration attitudes to collective action

In the context where immigration divides the political space of Western societies, perceived social polarization as an explanation of collective action is surprisingly understudied in contemporary social psychology. We hypothesize that the more people perceive polarization, the more they will engage in collective action in line with their attitudes. Moreover, this effect should be explained by two interrelated factors: identification and perceived efficacy. Perceived polarization should shape how important immigration attitudes are for individuals’ self-definition and thereby believing oneself capable of making a change, which in turn triggers collective action. To test our predictions, we conducted three studies (Studies 1 and 2 were correlational and Study 3 experimental) among mobilized and non-mobilized samples in two countries (i.e., Belgium and Switzerland). Results partially support our predictions that perceived social polarization on immigration issues relates to engaging in collective action. Indirect effect analyses revealed the predominant role of identity dynamics in the social psychological processes linked to perceiving polarization. These results provide potential explanations to the strong mobilization that emerged since 2015 following the so-called migrant crisis. Implications of our findings for collective action literature are discussed.

The Immigration Issue in the Field of Sociological Research

Concerns about continuous migration flows in recent decades have been politically adequately communicated globally by European politics. However, no European country has developed a social policy with appropriate precautionary measures to address logistical and political-cultural problems arising from the movement of large numbers of displaced people, problems that concern not only the host countries but also the countries of origin of immigrants. And although discussions at the level of studies on the immigration problem and its effects on the dominant culture have started too early, there is still a lack of research on the cultural side of migration and its implications for the political cultures of the host countries. Only isolated cases of reactions and discussions about the immigration policy of countries that welcome immigrants can be found in the literature. The present study first describes the situation that has been developed in Greece and Europe in the last five years by the increased number of refugees and migrants, which began to arrive, mainly through the Mediterranean, in Greece with a distant destination in the countries of Central and Northern Europe. Moreover, the study focuses on the areas of research that science needs to explore and study, in order for European policy to draw the necessary elements to formulate a strategic policy for the integration of migrants in host countries.

How Do Coronavirus Attitudes Fit into Britain's Ideological Landscape?

Coronavirus has upended British politics in 2020 but where does it fit into the ideological map of party competition? Recent British elections have seen a shift from economic left-right competition between the major parties to competition on the cultural (liberal-authoritarian) dimension, most notably in terms of the issues of immigration and membership of the European Union. Using British Election Study data from June 2020, we find that coronavirus attitudes fall primarily onto the traditional economic left-right dimension, with left wing voters more willing to make economic sacrifices of various types to reduce infections. However, more draconian coronavirus measures (such as fining or imprisoning those who violate the coronavirus rules) are most supported by voters who score high on authoritarianism. We show that the structure of coronavirus attitudes puts the Conservative government in a difficult position where many steps it takes to reduce infections risk alienating its core economic right wing vote.

Constituency map of the alternative for Germany (AfD) vote in 2017: analysing characteristic differences via multiple correspondence analysis

ABSTRACT The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party achieved a striking success in the 2017 German federal election. Using structural constituency data, this article explores in which constituencies the AfD gained more votes and why. As it transformed from a single-issue, anti-Euro party with populist tendencies into a right-wing populist party, the AfD refined its position and focus. I argue that at the constituency level, the AfD vote was linked to the issue of immigration and the anti-establishment trend. The demands voiced by AfD voters can be linked to certain political and socioeconomic characteristics of their constituencies which made them susceptible to the AfD’s right-wing populist rhetoric. Applying the statistical technique of multiple correspondence analysis (MCA), I examine the relationship between these characteristics and the AfD vote share at the constituency level. The AfD was likely to win more votes in constituencies characterised by an anti-establishment trend and anti-immigrant/refugee sentiment, the latter of which was linked not to the actual immigration rate, but rather to a combination of a low level of education and a high level of macroeconomic development.