Global Migration Archive (2014-2015)

Please see below for archived 2014-2015 events.

DOUBLE IMMIGRATION COLLAPSE. RECENT EVIDENCE FROM FIELDWORK

Jorge Durand, University of Guadalajara and Center for Economic Research and Teaching

Starting in 2008 a new migratory phase emerges. This has three main causes/characteristics: the impact of demographic transition in areas of high migration in Mexico, the economic crisis in the USA including high rates of  unemployment, slow economic recovery and sustained downward undocumented migration rates. Recent fieldwork in Altos de Jalisco, a region of with a strong tradition of migration, reveals a change in patterns of migration. Irregular migration is no longer a viable or desirable option, however the region has economic and educational opportunities that slow and stabilize the young population which previously tended to emigrate en masse.

Jorge Durand is a professor at the University of Guadalajara and associate professor at CIDE, Center for Economic Research and Teaching. He is co-director with Douglas S. Massey, the Mexican Migration Project (since 1987) and the Latin American Migration Project (since 1996) sponsored by Princeton University and Universidad de Guadalajara. He is a member of the National System of Researchers (Level III), the Mexican Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences of the United States.

Durand has studied the migration between Mexico and the United States for the last thirty years. Among his publications as author and co-author stand Return to Aztlan (1987), Más allá de la línea (1994), Miracles on the Border (1995) Migrations Mexicaines aux Etats-Unis (1995), Beyond Smoke and Mirrors (2002); and Clandestinos (2003).

  • Date(s): Wednesday, 4/15 2:30 PM to Wednesday, 4/15 4:00 PM
  • Address: 701 South Morgan, Lower Level / Stevenson Hall
  • Location: Chicago, IL
  • Contact: Linda Vavra
  • Email: huminst@uic.edu
  • Website: http://huminst.uic.edu/
  • Phone: (312) 996-6352

IMMIGRANT INCLUSION IN THE SAFETY NET: A FRAMEWORK FOR ANALYSIS AND EFFECTS ON EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

Presenters:
Meghan Condon, Loyola University Chicago
Alexandra Filindra, University of Illinois at Chicago
Discussant:  
Amalia Pallares, UIC Latin American Studies and Political Science

Abstract:
We present a theoretical framework to evaluate the effects of policies that target immigrants and apply it to investigate how immigrant inclusion in the state social safety net affects educational attainment among Latino and Asian Americans. Following welfare reform in 1996, states gained considerable autonomy over welfare policy, including decisions about the eligibility of immigrant residents. Leveraging state-level data from before and after reform, we estimate a difference-in-difference model to identify the effect of variation in immigrant inclusivity on educational attainment. We find evidence that when states take steps to broaden the inclusivity of the social safety net to immigrants, young Latinos and Asians are more likely to persist in schooling and graduate from high school. This effect is present beyond the group of Latino and Asian residents who receive additional benefits, suggesting that policy decisions about immigrants communicate broader messages about social inclusion to racial and ethnic groups. We conclude that immigration related policy variation at the state level has consequences for the life prospects of the growing populations of Latino and Asian American youth.

  • Date(s): Thursday, 4/9 12:00 PM to Thursday, 4/9 2:00 PM
  • Address: 701 South Morgan, Lower Level / Stevenson Hall
  • Location: Chicago, IL
  • Contact: Linda Vavra
  • Email: huminst@uic.edu
  • Website: http://huminst.uic.edu/
  • Phone: (312) 996-6352