Attitudes toward immigrants and immigration policy in Asia and the Pacific: a quantitative assessment of current theoretical models beyond western countries

This article empirically assesses the validity of current theoretical models of attitudes toward immigrants and immigration policy in the Asia-Pacific region. This paper takes representative data from the World Values Survey and implements a multilevel model to test five of the main theories in the literature: the human capital theory, the social capital theory, the political orientation theory, the contact/group threat theory and the economic competition theory. The results from the analysis lend credence to the important effects of human capital, social capital and political-ideological variables on respondents’ attitudes toward immigrants and immigration policy. However, the results provide mixed and weak evidence for the contact/group threat theory and the role of economic determinants. Importantly, economic determinants tend to be more powerful in shaping people's attitudes toward immigration policy than shaping attitudes toward immigrants as people. Altogether, this article sheds new light on the validity of current theoretical models based on western countries for other areas of the world. Finally, the results from the paper also support the usefulness of non-economic, as opposed to purely economic, models in the understanding of individuals’ attitudes toward immigrants and immigration policy in the Asia-Pacific region.     

Immigration and the Remaking of New York

Abstract

The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act abolished quotas that favored European immigrants, and for the first time placed all countries on an equal footing. The law resulted in increased overall immigration, and altered the sources of immigrants to the U.S. Since 1970, New York City has absorbed 2.6 million immigrants, primarily from non-European sources, who have dramatically altered the City's racial/Hispanic mix. Using immigration and birth records, as well as data from decennial censuses, this paper examines immigration to New York and assesses the demographic impact of these flows on the City's population.

Current immigrant flows have noticeably increased the ethnic diversity within the major race/Hispanic groups. This is largely due to increases in refugee flows, and to recent changes in immigration law that allow for “diversity” visas, which are aimed at countries that are under-represented in immigration flows to the U.S. Diversity immigration has provided New York with a continuing flow of new groups, most recently from Bangladesh, Mexico, Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal, who have established enclaves in many of the City's neighborhoods. The increasing diversity poses serious challenges for social service and health care professionals, who need to devise new strategies to deal with the disparate socioeconomic backgrounds, cultures, and belief systems of new ethnic groups. This is especially important given that New York's ethnic mix will continue to be churned, especially by way of diversity immigration and refugee flows from all parts of the globe.     

Transnational mobility,social capital,and cosmopolitan women traders in Ghana

Abstract

The dynamic economic power of Ghanaian women as traders in cloth and foodstuffs is well documented in the humanities and social sciences. This paper focuses on an emergent category of Ghanaian traders, women who are educated abroad and travel the globe to purchase consumer items, art, and cloth to sell on the Ghanaian market. The narratives of these women highlight numerous sociohistorical moments relevant to the global economy. As first- and second-generation immigrants in North America, these young traders are the children of the first-wave highly skilled African immigrants who sought educational opportunities in North America and Europe in the 1960s–1970s. The offspring of these educational elite now often speak of and act on a different set of desires and experience, to earn degrees in North America and Europe but return to Ghana in order to start entrepreneurial endeavors in art, fashion, and music. This new Ghanaian market woman earns a lucrative income using their cultural capital garnered through highly prized Western diplomas, the social history of women as formidable traders in Ghana, and the economic start-up funds garnered from transnational job opportunities and global family networks. In this paper, I examine the ways in which young women take advantage of global capital in order to achieve economic success in ways that question as well as challenge public policy and development programs in Ghana. Using a qualitative analysis based on ethnographic research conducted during 2009–2011 during which I interviewed 16 women ages 23–36, this paper examines how elite women progressively participate in and benefit from globalization in the ballooning informal economy of Ghana.     

Impact of the 1996 Welfare Reform and Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Acts on Caribbean Immigrants

SUMMARY

This paper examines the impact of the 1996 Welfare Reform and Illegal Immigration and Immigrant Responsibility Acts on Caribbean immigrants in the United States. Drawing from the conceptual framework posited by Dye's (1984) Elite Preference Modelof policy analysis, the author argues that the three laws have created enormous economic and psychological difficulties among families in the United States. Developing countries in the Caribbean region have been severely impacted by the law since they have had to accommodate returning citizens when they are deported under provisions of immigration policies. The question for consideration by this paper is how may the legal and human rights of deportees be balanced against the rights of the U.S. government to secure its borders and ensure the security of its citizens? The paper also addresses issues of immigration, and international relations particularly the north-south dialogue between powerful developed countries such as the United States and small developing states of the Caribbean.     

Mexican Immigrants

Abstract

Social Work's history is embedded in this profession's service and commitment to immigrant populations. This new century presents itself with a new mixture of immigrants who come to United States (U.S.) shores seeking a better life. The challenge to social workers is to be well-versed in social policy, human behavior, and practice realms related to serving these immigrants. Schools of social work must insure that curriculum reflects the needs and situations of this new mix of immigrants. One of the largest groups in this mix are those immigrants from Mexico. Of particular concern is the adaptation of Mexican and other Latino immigrants who come to this country without documentation. Social workers have an ethical responsibility to serve these clients in a culturally competent and informed manner. They must keep updated on immigration policy and entitlement or eligibility issues that mitigate these immigrants' ability to survive.     

Immigration to Portugal

Abstract

A peripheral West European country with a medium-sized population, Portugal experienced since the late 1990s a radical change in its migration trends, with growing and constant immigration flows. Not only the number of legal immigrants duplicated, but also the profile of immigrants changed and diversified. As a result, Portugal's public policies were challenged, and new social questions emerged. In particular, both public and private bodies have to deal with an increasing segmentation of the composition of immigration and of the labor market employing immigrants. Portugal still has not opted clearly for a model of immigration, and adaptation to these changes promises not to be easy, especially because the Portuguese society is simultaneously facing tensions deriving from its own     

Foreign Aid and Illegal Immigration

Abstract

Gaytán-Fregoso and Lahiri (2000) claim that foreign aid may increase the level of illegal immigration. This comment reconsiders their perverse findings under endogenous as well as exogenous income repatriation. Furthermore, modifying Gaytán-Fregoso and Lahiri's model, in which aid is allotted in a lump-sum fashion, it is suggested that the actual amount of foreign aid should depend on the source country's performance, i.e., on the number of illegal immigrants, since such a policy will further reduce the number of illegal immigrants.     

Airlines and Empires: Great Britain and the “Scramble for Africa,” 1919–1939

This study examines the dynamics of female African immigration and settlement in the United States and discusses the research and policy implications for these processes. It highlights a significant surge in female immigration from African compared to non-African countries in recent years. This surge is driven by female immigration from Africa's most populous countries, from countries affected by civil conflicts, and from English-speaking countries in the region. African women are also more likely to arrive as unmarried singles than other female immigrants. In addition, they have the highest prevalence of bachelor's, master's, and doctorate degrees among women in the US. African females are also about twice more likely to be enrolled in US educational institutions compared to other women. Those in the labor force are more likely to work as nursing professionals than in technical occupational groups such as engineering and computing. The study concludes by discussing the research and policy implications of these findings for countries in the developing world.     

West Indians in New York

Abstract

The process by which diverse ethnic groups from around the world blended into a unique civilization called the United States of America has provided insight into how mass immigration impacts on the development of human societies. This study explored the economic, educational, and social integration of a group of 409 first generation West Indian immigrants into the fabric of the society in New York City. It used the self-reports of those who were born and had worked in the West Indies, and had migrated and lived for several years in New York. The survey asked about their economic and educational status in the West Indies, compared with their current socio-economic profile, in order to determine the degree and quality of their social mobility. The criterion variables economic integration and experiencing problems of living in the United States of America were associated with nine input factors: age, citizenship, education, gender, income, length of residence, marital status, occupation, and reason for migrating to the United States.     

Constructing a social safety net in Africa: An institutionalist analysis of colonial rule and state social policies in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire

This article attempts to explain why, despite nearly identical cultural and economic landscapes and the potentially homogenizing pressures of globalization, social policies differ in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, two neighboring countries in West Africa. In Ghana, the government has generally attempted to strengthen the informal social welfare systems of the extended family and community through a more decentralized social policy, whereas the government in Côte d'Ivoire has tried to replace these informal social networks with the centralized arm of the bureaucracy. The article shows how different legacies of colonial rule produce these divergent social policies in a complex and iterative process over time. While domestic institutions do mediate the effects of globalization, the domestic factors highlighted in this article are not the formal political institutions cited in most studies. Rather, the analysis reveals the critical role of informal institutions, or normative frameworks, that existed under colonial rule and continue to endure in the post-colonial state. The article also contributes to current theories of institutions by showing how formal and informal institutions dynamically interact in the construction of the state and the African family.     

Migrant employment,recessions, and return migration: Some consequences for migration policy and development

After bringing approximately 13 million foreign migrants into Europe's industrial regions, the governments of many of these countries, among them France, Switzerland, West Germany, and the Netherlands have imposed severe restrictions on further immigration. Along with this move are the attempts by many countries to attract migrants back to their home countries. The recession of 1973 decreased the need for migrant labor and resulted in high levels of unemployment. The hard working migrant of the 1950's and 60's grew to become the politically active striker and social/political/financial burden on the state. Most governments have decided that future economic development will depend on technology, not labor production. The labor market structure of migrant workers helps explain why laid-off migrants do not return to their home countries. Political and economic conditions in the homeland also determine the amount of migrant return. The mere existence of a secondary labor force in an immigration country may make it easier to remain in that country. Incentives and financial inducements are needed to attract migrants home.     

To Help ‘Brotherly People’? Russian Policy Towards Ukrainian Refugees

Abstract

The essay focuses on Russian policy towards displaced persons from Ukraine’s war-torn territories from 2014 until mid-2019. The privileging of refugees from Ukraine relative to immigrants and refugees from other countries and, later, the granting of Russian citizenship to Ukrainian citizens from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, were interwoven with both influence-seeking in the Russian geopolitical neighbourhood and transborder nationalism and supported via direct presidential control of immigration. Despite a series of decrees and involvement of civil society in providing support, this essay detected a lack of efficient mechanisms for responding to the needs of the displaced.     

America's immigration "problem."

Immigration has traditionally aroused strong passions in the US. Though Americans profess pride in their history as a nation of immigrants, each new wave of immigrants is met with strenuous opposition. Sassen points out that this opposition underestimates the US's capacity to absorb more people and fails to appreciate the political and economic forces that give rise to immigration. The outcry over rising illegal immigration culminated in the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act. So far, the law's effectiveness has been limited. 1.8 million immigrants applied to regularize their status. However, there is growing evidence that the employer sanctions program is resulting in discrimination against minority workers who are US citizens, and in various abuses against undocumented workers. Meanwhile, illegal immigration continues to rise. The 1986 law, like earlier laws, is based o a faulty understanding of immigration causes. The US played a crucial role in the 1960s and 1970s in developing today's global economic system. This system contributed to the creation of pools of potential immigrants and to the formation of links between the industrialized and developing countries. In sum, foreign investment and promotion of export-oriented growth i the US in developing countries has served to increase immigration to the US. A workable US immigration policy would be based o the recognition that the US bears a certain amount of responsibility for international labor migrations. The precise features of a fair immigration policy will have to be elaborated. However, it is clear that US immigration policy will continue to be counterproductive as long as it places the responsibility for the formation of international migrations exclusively upon the migrants themselves.     

Quiet Casualties: An Analysis of U Non-Immigrant Status of Undocumented Immigrant Victims of Intimate Partner Violence

Although immigration policy is a key component of public administration scholarship in the United States, research into Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) for both documented and particularly undocumented immigrants has been tangential in focus. This exploratory study questions 1. the effect of immigration reform on U.S. undocumented immigrant women of IPV and

2. how changes in the number of undocumented immigrants affect IPV victimization rates and the regulations concerning U non-immigrant status.

A least-square trend line suggests that the 10,000 U visa applications permitted annually will not cover the undocumented female population of IPV let alone the victims qualified under the U non-immigrant status. Based on a review of the laws and policies regarding the U-Visa we provide several recommendations to reform immigration laws directed toward immigrant victims of IPV. This study adds to the growing, but still weak body of knowledge on abused immigrant female populations in the United States and how federal legislation toward immigration reform and policy will help these women become valuable contributors to our society.     

Newly Arrived West Indian Adolescents

Abstract

This study explores patterns of adjustment among newly arrived West Indian adolescents. In particular, it focuses on the concurrent developmental and cultural transitions of immigration and adolescence. Barriers to adjustment and patterns of identity formation are explored and discussed within the context of a typological developmental model. Findings of this study are based on the responses of 25 newly arrived adolescents from six Caribbean countries regarding their adjustment to New York City schools. The data analysis identifies various structural and immigration-based factors, which challenge the social and psychological adjustment of new immigrant adolescents. It highlights the effect of culture and immigration on attachment to school and society and supports the need for increased social work intervention in mediating between homes and schools of new immigrants.     

‘Everyone Now is Concentrating on the Mining’: Drivers and Implications of Rural Economic Transition in the Eastern Region of Ghana

Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) is replacing smallholder farming as the principal income source in parts of rural Ghana. Structural adjustment policies have removed support for the country's smallholders, devalued their produce substantially and stiffened competition with large-scale counterparts. Over one million people nationwide are now engaged in ASM. Findings from qualitative research in Ghana's Eastern Region are drawn upon to improve understanding of the factors driving this pattern of rural livelihood diversification. The ASM sector and farming are shown to be complementary, contrary to common depictions in policy and academic literature.     

Introduction

Abstract

The United States social work literature on immigrants and immigration emphasizes one part of the migration process-the experiences of immigrants in this country. However, experiences in the country of origin that lead to emigration receive limited attention. Knowledge of the latter ultimately provides a context for understanding the immigration experience. This introduction, Thinking Beyond United States' Borders, presents the underlying ideas that provide the foundation for the discussions in this volume. It focuses on the interconnectedness between immigrants' country of origin and destination. Thus, a two-country perspective is embedded in this discussion and in the articles that follow.     

Miracle to meltdown: A pathology of the East Asian financial crisis

The financial crisis in East Asia was made more dramatic by the fact that the region's performance in terms of economic growth over the preceding decade had been widely perceived as a 'miracle'. What was it that transformed the region's fortunes, and what are the chances for a speedy economic recovery? Systematic analysis reveals that, while there is no unicausal explanation, and while few if any commentators anticipated the crisis before the event, the fundamental difference from previous international financial crises is the extreme indebtedness of the corporate sector of the crisis countries. Private sector repayment difficulties and the associated banking crises triggered the sudden withdrawal of capital and the collapse of exchange rates. Failure to address the underlying private sector debt overhang, and reliance instead on conventional macroeconomic policy solutions, have led to a decline in output and a depreciation in exchange rates which have been far greater than need have been the case.     

Capturing globalization: Prospects and projects

The Asian economic crisis of 1997 highlighted the inherent instability of the new worldwide economic order being created by highly mobile capital, and also its destabilizing social and political effects, especially in the transitional societies which had proved so hospitable to the champions of globalization and to proffered capital inputs. Whether these societies are destined to be subsumed and captured by globalization processes, or whether they and their citizens have any possibility of capturing some genuine benefits from advancing globalization, may rest on whether these transitional states and societies can assert, or at least influence, the terms of their engagement with those processes. This will not be possible, however, if people, societies and states capitulate in advance to the forces and processes of globalization as irresistible. This issue is explored through the grounded investigation of four key questions: do globalization processes serve any ends beyond themselves? How might one grasp the best, and make the most, of globalization? Is the logic of the market immutable and inflexible transculturally, or is it amenable to varying forms of cultural inflection and political supervision? Can what globalization delivers be drawn upon selectively, or is it instead a 'package-deal'?     

Exile and globalization in the poetry of Tanure Ojaide: a case study of When it no longer matters where you live

Abstract

The twin concepts of exile and globalization are of great significance to contemporary African literature, as some African writers live and write in exile, while others deploy themes and styles that they believe make their works relevant to the global community. Since the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the end of the cold war at the end of the twentieth century, there has been a triumphalism of liberal democracy, free-market economy and other norms of the capitalist world order. Consequently there appears to be an increasing tendency among scholars to homogenize or globalize the practices and values canvassed by the advanced countries of the West.

In Ojaide's When It No Longer Matters Where You Live, the poet acknowledges the inevitability of some African elites living in exile in Western cosmopolitan centers, but rejects the uncritical notion inherent in globalization that western culture and values were synonymous with universal norms or superior to those of the Africans.