Introduction to Migration Policy and Politics Final Exam

Immigrants slowly absorb into the host society, adopting mainstream culture and reducing differences across generations.

Segmented Assimilation Theory

immigrants do NOT all assimilate in the same way or into the same segment of society. Instead, they experience different paths depending on class, community resources, discrimination, family structure, and neighborhood conditions.

Upward assimilation

into the mainstream middle class

Downward assimilation

into impoverished or marginalized groups

Selective (or “bicultural”) assimilation

• Maintain strong ethnic ties

• AND achieve mobility by drawing on community support

Upward mobility path

Second-generation child A grows up in a stable neighborhood, has access to good schools, and benefits from strong family support.

They:

• Succeed academically

• Go to college

• Enter a professional career

• Integrate smoothly into middle-class American society

Downward mobility path

Second-generation child B, living in a poor neighborhood with high crime and few resources, faces discrimination and underfunded schools.

They:

• Struggle academically

• Drop out of school

• Join a peer group that faces marginalization

• End up in low-wage or unstable work

“Selective” or “Bicultural” assimilation path

Second-generation child C grows up in a strong ethnic community with good support systems.

They:

• Maintain Spanish

• Stay connected to cultural traditions

• Participate in ethnic networks (churches, community orgs)

• Use these networks to succeed educationally and economically

Labor Market Competition Model

The labor market competition model argues that native-born workers will oppose immigration most strongly when immigrants have similar skill levels to them.

Why?
Because workers with the same skills compete for the same jobs, so an increase in labor supply lowers wages for that group.

Low-skilled native workers

• They compete for the same construction, agricultural, or service jobs.

• Increased supply of workers → wages may fall.

• Result: They become more opposed to immigration.

High-skilled native workers

• They don’t compete for those same jobs.

• They may even BENEFIT because cheaper labor lowers business costs.

• Result: They are less opposed to low-skilled immigration.

Fiscal Burden Model

people form opinions about immigration based on whether they believe immigrants will cost or benefit the government financially.
individuals think about:

• Taxes they pay

• Public services immigrants might use

• Whether immigrants contribute enough to offset those costs

People who worry about immigrants using more public services than they contribute may oppose immigration — especially low-skilled immigration, which is perceived (not always correctly!) as more likely to require social services.

Ethnic Enclave

concentrated geographic area where a large number of immigrants from the same ethnic or national background live together.

Dispersion

immigrants live spread out across the host society rather than clustering in a single concentrated area.

Self-Identification

how a person chooses to identify themselves—their race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender, etc.—based on their own perception, experience, and sense of belonging.

Identification Ascribed by Others

how society, the government, or individuals categorize a person, often based on assumptions, stereotypes, appearance, or external criteria.

Antenati

already living in a territory before that territory officially became a sovereign nation-state.

Social Categorization

people sort individuals (including themselves) into social groups based on shared characteristics such as race, ethnicity, gender, nationality, religion, class, or language.

Social Identity

individual’s self-concept that comes from their membership in a social group, along with the value and emotional meaning they attach to being part of that group.

Cognition

Knowing you are part of a group
(e.g., “I am Mexican American,” “I am a woman,” “I am a student”).

Affect

Feeling positively or negatively about that group
(e.g., pride, belonging, shame, defensiveness).

Patriotism

emotional attachment to and love for one’s country.
It focuses on loyalty to the state and commitment to its values, institutions, and well-being.

Nationalism

loyalty to the nation as a group, which is often defined by shared culture, ethnicity, ancestry, or language.
It focuses on who belongs to the nation and who does not.

Key features (from your notes):

• Emphasizes the nation rather than the state

• Can be based on:

  • Ethnic nationalism → bloodline, ancestry, cultural sameness

  • Civic nationalism → shared political principles

• Often draws boundaries around who counts as a “real” member

• Can strengthen in-group vs. out-group divisions

Decategorization

process where people stop thinking of others in terms of group membership (“immigrant,” “American,” “Muslim,” “Latino,” etc.) and instead start seeing them as individuals with unique qualities.

It reduces the importance of in-group vs. out-group distinctions and encourages more personal, human-level interactions.

Personalization

You see the person as Maria, David, or Aisha — not as “that immigrant” or “that American.”

Cross-cutting categorization

New shared subgroups or relationships appear that mix people from different backgrounds
(e.g., group projects, sports teams, work teams).

Recategorization

people shift from seeing others as members of different groups (“us vs. them”) to seeing everyone as part of a single, shared, superordinate group.Instead of reducing categories (that’s decategorization), recategorization creates a new identity that includes both groups.

Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR)

refers to large-scale immigration bills that try to address all major parts of the U.S. immigration system at once.

DREAM Act

proposed federal law that would create a pathway to legal status for undocumented young people who were brought to the U.S. as children (often called “Dreamers”).

It has never passed, even though it has been introduced many times since 2001.

PATRIOT Act (2001)

passed immediately after the 9/11 attacks to expand the U.S. government's powers to detect, prevent, and punish terrorism.

Although primarily an anti-terror law, it had major consequences for immigration policy, especially in screening, monitoring, and removing non-citizens.

Homeland Security Act (2002)

This was one of the largest federal reorganizations in U.S. history.

It fundamentally reshaped immigration enforcement, border control, and national security.

Secure Fence Act (2006)

President George W. Bush’s administration that authorized the construction of approximately 700 miles of fencing along the U.S.–Mexico border and expanded surveillance and border enforcement technologies.

It was primarily an enforcement-only measure—not a comprehensive immigration reform bill.

DREAM Act (2010 Version)

Receive conditional legal status

• After meeting requirements (age at arrival, years living in U.S., good moral character, high school/GED)

✔ Later apply for permanent legal residency (green card)

If they completed:

• 2 years of college, OR

• 2 years of military service

✔ Eventually seek citizenship

This bill was considered more moderate and straightforward than earlier versions.

DACA (2012)

executive action created by President Barack Obama in 2012.
It does NOT grant citizenship or permanent legal status.
Instead, it provides temporary protection from deportation and work authorization to certain undocumented young people who came to the U.S. as children (“Dreamers”).

It is an administrative program, not a law passed by Congress.
DACA ≠ DREAM Act.

DAPA (2014 executive action)

It was an executive action by President Obama intended to offer temporary deportation relief and work permits to certain undocumented parents.

Like DACA, it was a form of deferred action, NOT a pathway to citizenship.

Dignidad (Dignity) Act of 2023

It attempted to address border security, legal status for undocumented immigrants, and visa reforms—essentially a form of Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

Social Identity Theory

how people’s sense of self is shaped by the social groups they belong to.
It argues that individuals derive part of their identity, self-esteem, and worldview from group memberships, such as:

• nationality

• race

• ethnicity

• religion

• gender

• political party

• occupation

• immigrant/native status

Intergroup Contact Theory

that interaction between members of different groups reduces prejudice, but only under certain conditions.
When people meet, work with, or socialize with members of an out-group, they become less anxious, more empathetic, and less likely to rely on stereotypes.

Perceived Cultural Distance

how different or similar native-born individuals believe immigrants are from the host society’s culture, values, religion, language, or lifestyle — regardless of whether those perceptions are accurate.

It is about subjective beliefs, not actual cultural differences.

When natives view immigrants as culturally similar, they tend to be more accepting.

• When they view immigrants as culturally distant, they tend to be more hostile, fearing that newcomers will not “fit in,” share values, or assimilate.

Ethnocentrism

tendency to view one’s own ethnic, cultural, or national group as superior to others and to evaluate other groups based on one’s own cultural standards.

Salience

how prominent or activated a particular social identity is in a given moment.
In other words, which identity “comes to mind” and shapes behavior in a specific situation.

People have many identities — race, gender, nationality, religion, party ID, immigrant/native status — but only some of them become salient at any given time.

Egoistic Threat

refers to the perception that immigrants pose a personal, individual-level threat to one’s own economic well-being.

It focuses on “me”, not “my group.”

In other words, a native-born person believes:

• “Immigrants will take my job.”

Sociotropic Threat

belief that immigrants harm the country as a whole, rather than harming the individual personally.

It focuses on national-level or group-level economic concerns, not one’s personal job, wages, or housing.

This means a person thinks:

• “Immigration hurts the U.S. economy.”

Linked Fate

what happens to your group will also affect you personally.
In other words, an individual’s life chances are seen as tied to the well-being of their racial, ethnic, or social group.

It’s the idea that:

“If my group suffers, I suffer. If my group advances, I advance.”

H.R. 4437 (2005

t is one of the harshest immigration measures ever approved by the House.

Ex:
1. Criminalize undocumented presence

• Being undocumented would become a felony (not just a civil violation).

Social Identity Model of Collective Action (SIMCA)

hy people engage in collective action (protests, marches, political mobilization, immigrant rights activism, etc.).
It argues that people participate when three psychological forces come together:

1. Shared social identity

2. Perceived injustice

3. Efficacy (belief the group can create change)

Grievances

perceived problems, injustices, or harms that motivate people to demand change.
They are the reasons groups feel wronged and believe the status quo is unfair.

Grievances can be:

• Economic (poverty, wage inequality, unemployment)

Political Efficacy

belief that one’s political actions can influence government decisions, policies, or outcomes.

Example 1: Immigration Activism

Dreamers join rallies for DACA/DREAM Act because they believe public pressure can influence policymakers, demonstrating high political efficacy.

Opinion-Based Identity

when people form a sense of group identity around a shared political opinion, belief, or stance rather than around ethnicity, race, religion, or nationality.

In other words:

People begin identifying as part of a group because they share a specific viewpoint.

Liminal legality

refers to the in-between, uncertain, and temporary legal status that many immigrants hold—neither fully documented nor fully undocumented.

EX:
DACA Recipients (Dreamers)

Residual Method

most widely used technique for estimating the undocumented immigrant population in the United States.

It works by subtracting the number of legally present immigrants from the total foreign-born population measured in census data.