Immigrant Integration

 

Plyler v. Doe: Implementation, Challenges, and Implications for the Future

by Amanda Warner

August 2022

In 1982,  in Plyler v. Doe, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Texas  law denying school enrollment to undocumented immigrant  school children, thereby ensuring a free K-12 public education for all students regardless of immigration status. Today, some Americans want to overturn Plyler, and some scholars believe that the official opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, laid a foundation for an impending Plyler challenge. This paper reviews the Plyler decision, focuses on continuing barriers to education faced by undocumented students, and examines the potential impact of overturning Plyler. 

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Click here to read the Plyler v Doe Q & A

Views of Immigrants in the Contemporary United States

by

James C. Witte, Ismail Nooraddini, and Cassius Modiasan Hossfeld

 

April 2022

 

This project examines attitudes towards immigrants in seven U.S. cities: Baltimore/DC Metro Area, Boston, Detroit, Miami, Philadelphia, San Jose, and Seattle. The results show that more frequent contact with immigrants at the local level may be a key to changing views about immigration nationally. Also, Republicans and Fox News viewers are more likely to see immigration as a problem both locally and nationally, and reaching these populations is important to changing attitudes toward immigration.

If you would like to see results for individual metropolitan areas, contact us at IIR@gmu.edu. 

 

 

 

The Impact of Quantity and Quality of Interaction on Attitudes towards Immigrants: A Survey of Residents in the Washington and Baltimore Metropolitan Areas

by Ismail Nooraddini and

James C. Witte

Institute for Immigration Research, George Mason University

The survey of the Impact of Quantity and Quality of Interaction on Attitudes towards Immigrants (IQQIAI) was designed in early 2020 to help researchers and policymakers understand the puzzling disconnect between public opinion towards immigrants—which has become increasingly positive—  and federal immigration policy—which became increasingly anti-immigrant—especially during the Trump administration. The survey focuses on how public opinion is shaped; particularly by day-to-day contact with recent immigrants, but also by media sources, friendship patterns, and individual demographic characteristics. The COVID-19 pandemic, the political turmoil, social unrest, and economic upheaval of the past year make it critical that we better understand the views of a vocal minority who hold negative attitudes towards New Americans and oppose efforts by policymakers to pass policies to facilitate the integration of New Americans.

This study is based on a sample of 662 adult respondents drawn from the Washington and Baltimore Metropolitan areas, but the findings also have national implications. Data was collected in late November and early December 2020. The survey margin of error is +/- 3.8%.

Survey items cover the following themes:

  • Frequency of Contact with People based on Race and Place of Birth
  • Quality of Contact with People based on Race and Place of Birth
  • Views on Immigrants and Immigration
  • Friendship and Socializing
  • Media Consumption
  • Political Beliefs
  • Immigrants and COVID-19
  • Demographic Characteristics of Respondents

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The Experiences of Migrant Women and Human Smuggling

by Carol Cleaveland and Vicki Kirsch, Department of Social Work, George Mason University

 

This research revealed the reality of human smuggling from the perspective of migrant women from Central America. Their testimony and experiences can teach us about the trauma they face during migration and how it continues to impact them when they arrive in the United States.

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This version is adapted from an article that appeared in Qualitative Social Work, April 2019.

Steps to Success: Integrating Immigrant Professionals in the United States

Steps to Success: Integrating Immigrant Professionals in the United States is a report by the Institute for Immigration Research in collaboration with IMPRINT and WES Global Talent Bridge. This report details the experiences of college-educated immigrants in six U.S. cities; Boston, Detroit, Miami, Philadelphia, San Jose and Seattle.

Our first-of-its-kind study documents multiple factors that correlate with the successful integration of immigrant professionals into the U.S. workforce and our communities.

Steps to Success draws from the survey responses of more than 4,000 college-educated immigrants living in the United States, identifies factors that correlate with their successful integration into American life and offers recommendations for communities to better integrate these skilled workers, and take advantage of their many talents.

For a FREE copy of this report please Click here.