REU Site: Collaborative Research: Undergraduate Research on Immigration Policy

New Mexico State University, Las Cruces NM

Investigators

Abstract

This project is funded from the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Sites program in the Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE). The REU program has both scientific and societal benefits integrating research and education. This renewal project will allow for further training of undergraduate students from underrepresented groups in the social sciences. Each summer, ten students will receive training in research methods related to issues facing the border region, particularly in the El Paso/ Las Cruces areas of New Mexico. With immigration and border issues remaining central to national policy debates, more on the ground research is needed to truly understand the nature of enforcement measures and their impacts on border communities in a highly dynamic and complex region. Students will learn techniques for collecting and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data as they collaborate with local organizations engaged with immigration and border enforcement debates. The goal is to produce research that is highly relevant to local needs, rather than academic research based purely on theoretical concerns. Students will explore topics related to the root causes of migration from Mexico and Central America, the impacts of border enforcement at ports of entry and interior checkpoints, as well as the relationships between federal immigration enforcement and border communities. This project will help to produce the next generation of applied social scientists for the academy, government, and the nonprofit sector, while also contributing to the scholarship on immigration policy. The project seeks to address gaps in existing literature concerning the root causes of migration as well as the local impacts of federal immigration and border security policies, while preparing undergraduate students, especially those who are from groups that are underrepresented in the social sciences, to pursue academic STEM studies and careers using Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR). The program has three main goals: 1) Provide students with opportunities to conduct quality CBPR by involving them in interdisciplinary research projects on immigration policy; 2) integrate scholarship in migration and border studies; and, 3) prepare students to conduct collaborative research and present findings in a variety of academic and community venues. Student activities will be grounded within a nine-week summer program comprised of nine workshops, faculty mentorship, and collaborative research resulting in written products and conference presentations. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.