New from IMR: Migration Policies and Processes

The Winter 2016 edition of the International Migration Review (IMR) is now available online and in print through paid or institutional subscription. This edition includes a series of papers on trends and impact of migration policies, including a paper introducing findings from a database that measures immigration policies across countries. Other articles explore migration processes in Mexico, the United States, India, Canada, and Albania. This edition also includes eight new book reviews which are always made open access and freely available for three years from the date of publication.

Some highlights from the Winter 2016 edition include:

Divine Development: Transnational Indian Religious Organizations in the United States and India

Rina Agarwala

This paper examines how the social identities of Indian immigrants to the United States shape development ideas in India. Comparing Indian-American Hindu and Muslim religious organizations, the author finds that both groups use their position as elite immigrants in the United States to empower their respective religious communities in India. The two groups, however, differ in their engagement, in poverty-alleviation projects in India and in their advocacy with the Indian government. In particular, Hindu organizations address India’s inequality with other countries, while Muslim organizations address inequalities within India. The findings on migrants’ interactions with religious organizations and states expand understanding of the actors involved in migration and development. The paper also offers insights into the understudied role of immigrants’ religious identities in development.

Comparing Immigration Policies: An Overview from the IMPALA Database

Michel Beine, Anna Boucher, Brian Burgoon, Mary Crock, Justin Gest, Michael Hiscox, Patrick McGovern, Hillel Rapoport, Joep Schaper, Eiko Thielemann

Using preliminary findings from the IMPALA database which tracks immigration policies around the world and through time, the authors compare immigration policies from nine countries between 1999 and 2008. Their findings challenge the idea that any one country is systematically the most or least restrictive regarding immigration. The analysis, however, does reveal a trend towards more complex and, often, more restrictive immigration regulation since the 1990s. There is also a trend toward greater differences in the treatment of migrant sub-groups through policies such as lower requirements for highly skilled migrants than for low-skilled labor migrants. The paper captures the nuances of immigration law around the world and throughout the decade examined. The authors also show that the IMPALA database can be an important tool for understanding immigration regulation.

Non-Citizen Mexican Youth in US Higher Education: A Closer Look at the Relationship between State Tuition Policies and College Enrollment

Robert Bozick, Trey Miller, and Matheu Kaneshiro

This paper examines state policies that allow or deny in-state tuition to children of undocumented immigrants in the United States. Using the Current Population Survey (1997–2010), the authors assess the extent these policies have affected college enrollment rates among non-citizen Mexican youth — a proxy for the undocumented population. In contrast to previous analyses, the findings show that policies extending in-state tuition to undocumented youth do not directly affect rates of college enrollment. However, the findings indicate that undocumented Mexican youth living in states that deny in-state tuition have a 12.1 percentage point lower probability of being enrolled in college than their peers living in states with no such policies.

The full table of contents for the Winter 2016 issue of IMR is available below:

ISSUE INFORMATION

Table of Contents

MIGRATION POLICIES: TRENDS AND IMPACTS

Comparing Immigration Policies: An Overview from the IMPALA Database
Michel Beine, Anna Boucher, Brian Burgoon, Mary Crock, Justin Gest, Michael Hiscox, Patrick McGovern, Hillel Rapoport, Joep Schaper, and Eiko Thielemann

Non-Citizen Mexican Youth in US Higher Education: A Closer Look at the Relationship between State Tuition Policies and College Enrollment
Robert Bozick, Trey Miller, and Matheu Kaneshiro

MIGRATION PROCESSES IN MEXICO, THE UNITED STATES, INDIA, CANADA, AND ALBANIA

The Effect of Rainfall on Migration from Mexico to the United States
Gerónimo Barrios Puente, Francisco Perez, and Robert J. Gitter

Divine Development: Transnational Indian Religious Organizations in the United States and India
Rina Agarwala

Migrating Gender Inequalities? Immigrant Women’s Participation in Political Survey Research
Antoine Bilodeau

The Effect of Residential Concentration on Voter Turnout among Ethnic Minorities
Yosef Bhatti and Kasper M. Hansen

The Interaction between Race and Nativity on the Housing Market: Homeownership and House Value of Black Immigrants in the United States
Rebbeca Tesfai

Opting in to Opt out? Emigration and Group Participation in Albania
Cristina Cattaneo

BOOK REVIEWS (Open Access)

We Are All Migrants: Political Action and the Ubiquitous Condition of Migrant-hood by Gregory Feldman
Patti Tamara Lenard

The Political Economy of Border Drawing: Arranging Legality in European Labor Migration Policies by Regine Paul
Eeva-Kaisa Prokkola

The Other Americans in Paris: Businessmen, Countesses, Wayward Youth, 1880–1941 by Nancy L. Green
Miles Reding