The Institute for Immigration Research (IIR) is a multidisciplinary research institute at George Mason University. The IIR’s mission is to produce valid, reliable, and objective multidisciplinary research on immigrants and immigration to the United States and to disseminate this information through peer-reviewed academic journals, as well as in print and digital formats that make this research easily accessible to policy-makers, the media, the business community, and the general public.
Our faculty affiliates, graduate students, and partners are at the forefront of immigration research. The IIR produces high quality, timely research and analysis that examines the economic contributions of all immigrants in the United States, with a particular emphasis on immigrant entrepreneurs with high levels of education and skills.
The IIR is a joint venture between George Mason University and The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc. (ILC) of Massachusetts. The IIR was founded in 2012 through the generous donation of Ms. Diane Portnoy, educator and philanthropist from Malden, Massachusetts.
The IIR is located on the campus of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, outside the nation’s capital, Washington, DC. Its strategic location allows the IIR to draw on unparalleled academic, government, and private resources to advance its mission in research, education, and professional opportunities for current and future scholars of immigration studies. Through conferences, workshops, lectures, and other events, the IIR is able to engage in community outreach with one of the most diverse populations in the United States.
The IIR benefits from the leadership of an Advisory Board of dedicated individuals from academia, education, law, and immigration policy. The current IIR Board Membership is listed below.
The IIR's faculty affiliates work with IIR staff and graduate students in several ways: 1) they serve as moderators and speakers for IIR events; 2) they provide professional development to IIR graduate students by presenting at staff meetings and other special events; 3) they help to disseminate information about IIR publications and events to their students and networks and through social media; 4) they invite IIR staff to guest lecture in their classes; 5) they co-author papers with IIR staff; 6) they write short immigration-related papers for the IIR (these are posted on our website); and 7) they advertise their affiliation with the IIR when they speak publicly.