Immigration Laws Comprehensive Article Review

Immigration Laws Comprehensive Article Review

Over the past decades, the adoption of immigration policies in different jurisdictions has shaped immigrants’ perceptions and attitudes. Depending on immigrants’ status, some jurisdictions enact laws to integrate them into society while others seek to expel undocumented persons. In the article “The New Immigration Contestation: Social Movements and Local Immigration Policy Making in the United States, 2000-2001,” Vasi and Steil (2014) examined the impact of the explanatory power of resource mobilization, political process, and strain theories of social movements on policy outcomes differ when assessing proactive as opposed to reactive movements. Although extensive literature presents varying explanations for the rapidly increasing local immigration legislation, this study examines processes leading to the enactment of pro-immigrant policies and those that lead to the adoption of anti-immigrant laws.(Immigration Laws Comprehensive Article Review)

Steil and Vasi (2014) used a mixed-method approach to analyze 1,301 cities that constituted more than 25,000 people. They used Cox proportional hazards models to make estimates of dependent and independent variables. The authors employed event history analysis to determine national variations in specific cities using semi-structured interviews to compare processes that result in the adoption of proactive and reactive policies. The authors identified 96 cities that adopted anti-immigrant policies and 97 cities that adopted pro-immigrant policies for the research. Researchers organized data for each city annually during the study. Locations for pro-immigrant and anti-immigrant groups were measured using information from various nationwide active organizations.(Immigration Laws Comprehensive Article Review)

Although debates surrounding immigration issues center at federal levels, it has since transcended local and state levels, with a significant impact on various fronts. As a result, the term “new immigration contestation” denotes increasing local policy-making processes (Steil & Vasi, 2014). The authors argue that an impending surge in local policy-making due to rising new forms of local associations would be reflect existing local chapters of organizations working on immigration issues. This analogy would mean that the local presence of pro-immigrant organizations results in the passage of pro-immigrant ordinances, as would be the case for anti-immigrant organizations and ordinances. The passage of pro-immigrant ordinances is also associated with municipal political context favorable to pro-immigrant policies, as would be for anti-immigrant organizations and ordinances. However, results and findings affirm the factors that contribute support for proactive policies in favor of reactive policies.(Immigration Laws Comprehensive Article Review)

The Steil and Vasi (2014) study build on previous studies on immigration policy-making and social movement outcomes. It utilizes a unique research design to compare the impacts of proactive and reactive processes on local laws whose results are different. Also, the study finds that framing of structural social underpinnings is vital as they determine how the changes influence policy outcomes. Another finding is evident by analyzing spatial consequences of movement protest; other unintended consequences are drawn into pro-immigrant mobilizations and primarily determined by people’s geographical alienations.(Immigration Laws Comprehensive Article Review)

The study’s findings present implications for immigration and immigration policies. In the US, immigration policies are set to cater to the needs of immigrants, citizens, and political leaders (Steil & Vasi, 2014). However, ordinances such as the pro-immigrant ones were implemented because of sympathetic local political allies and immigrant community organizations. Similarly, anti-immigrant ordinances were primarily influenced by structural changes in society due to local Latinos’ rising populations. Although previous research on the influence of organizations on adopting policies presents compelling evidence, the current study’s findings do not show any significant results on adopting anti-immigrant laws.(Immigration Laws Comprehensive Article Review)

The Steil and Vasi (2014) study has several implications on the US immigration policy. It draws extensive support and unparalleled criticism from advocates, policymakers, service providers, and the research community on immigration policy provisions. Despite anti-immigrant groups being perpetuated to resent undocumented immigrants in US neighborhoods, it is not conclusive to assert that immigrants associate themselves with violent crimes and neither do they threaten local livelihoods. Nevertheless, reactive groups contend that many undocumented immigrants, especially Latinos, eliminate job opportunities and increase health and education expenditures. This study can present adverse effects for minority groups who can be forced to forego assistance in the form of basic needs and public services, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.(Immigration Laws Comprehensive Article Review)

The adoption of immigration policies depends on a country’s cultural and economic factors. Although this study presents substantive evidence regarding pro- and anti-immigrant policies, it does not explicitly expound on the association between local and national underpinnings. Future research on immigration can focus on social concerns and measure actual local framing of structural changes in a national scope. As stated before, protests resulted in unintended consequences from other quarters, raising a concern pertinent to movement-countermovement dynamics’ spatiality. Therefore, further research and analysis can center on this aspect in greater detail. I believe that the study impacts the US population’s different factions, thus setting precedence for new immigration research. Today, state and localities’ input to streamline immigration laws is significant and will impact future policies.(Immigration Laws Comprehensive Article Review)

References

de Graauw, E., Gleeson, S., & Bloemraad, I. (2013). Funding immigrant organizations: Suburban free riding and local civic presence. American Journal of Sociology, 119(1), 75-130. doi.org/10.1086/671168(Immigration Laws Comprehensive Article Review)

Steil, J., & Vasi, I. (2014). The new immigration contestation: Social movements and local immigration policy-making in the United States, 2000–2011. American Journal of Sociology, 119(4), 1104-1155. doi.org/10.1086/675301(Immigration Laws Comprehensive Article Review)

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/