Doctoral Dissertation Research: Welcoming the Outsider: Variations in Local Construction of the Law toward Immigrants

University Of Kansas Center For Research Inc, Lawrence KS

Investigators

Abstract

Local agencies in the US increasingly play a key role in immigration enforcement and in providing services to immigrants. This project will study the local construction of law on the street regarding immigrants by studying the degree of agencies' "welcomeness" to immigrants. A 2011 pilot study revealed that some local agencies have comprehensive policies favoring integrating immigrants into the local community; others do little or are hostile to integration. The research will examine how widely local law enforcement agencies and public libraries are welcoming (or unwelcoming) to immigrants and what conditions shape the degree of welcomeness. This project will evaluate three different claims concerning the incorporation of immigrants. The first approach posits that agencies in communities experiencing greater immigration levels will be less welcoming; an alternative posits that agencies? policies will be influenced by shared professional practices. Finally, it may be that front-line employees are influenced by the characteristics of their immediate situation and the actions of the person they are addressing. The research will include a two-phased study using organizational surveys of national samples of law enforcement and libraries and interviews with a sub-sample of leaders and front-line employees, supplemented by observations. These agencies interact commonly with immigrants, but vary in whether they are regulatory-agencies or service-agencies. The national samples will allow comparisons across widely-varying levels of immigrant populations, local political preferences, and degree of agency connection to professional networks. The project will enhance understanding of the local construction of immigrant policy. In addition, the project may help local agencies develop policies and training programs to improve relationships with immigrants. The project will also produce two databases, one of interview transcripts and one of survey data that will be available to researchers and professionals.