Robert Turner bturner@skidmore.edu
315 Ladd http://www.skidmore.edu/~bturner
Office Hours MW 1:30-3 or whenever
my door is open or by appointment
Immigration
Politics and Policy
GO
367 (4 credits)
Spring
2010
Immigration
is one of the most important forces in American society today –re-shaping
cities, suburbs, and rural areas, altering racial dynamics, influencing
families, education, culture, labor markets, and politics. This class will examine these issues from an
interdisciplinary perspective incorporating readings from economics, sociology,
demography, and political science as well as the depiction of immigration in
popular culture. Some of the topics we
will address are: the historical evolution
of American immigration policy, push and pull theories of immigration, the
economic costs and benefits of immigration, the assimilation of recent immigrant,
and the future direction of
Readings
Daniel Tichenor, Daniel J. Dividing Lines: The Politics of
Immigration Control in
Jorge Durand, Nolan J. Malone, and Douglas S. Massey, Beyond Smoke and Mirrors: Mexican Immigration in an Era of Economic Integration (2003)
George Borjas, Heaven's Door: Immigration Policy and the American Economy (2001)
Samuel P. Huntington,
Who Are We: The Challenges to
You should complete the assigned reading and assignment before class. Class will consist primarily of discussion and student presentations.
REQUIREMENTS & GRADING
As befitting your status at one of the “New Ivies”, I have high expectations of student performance. Grades will be determined by student performance on all of the following
1. Class participation/presentations (10%)
2. Explanation of Major U.S. Immigration Legislation 3-4 pages (15%)
3. Migration Paper 3-4 pages (15%)
4. Economic Analysis of Immigration 3-4 pages (15%)
5.
6. Final policy paper 10-12 pages (30%)
COURSE ABSENCES
A well functioning class that promotes learning requires good attendance. You are allowed two personal days (absences), after that I will deduct 2.5% from your final grade. For example, you receive a 90%, but have missed four classes; your final grade is an 85%. You have an unlimited number of excused absences for illnesses, family crises, etc, though they count against your two absences. For each of these absences, you must provide written excuse from the Dean of Students’ office.
COURSE SCHEDULE
Jan 26 Introduction – Why Study
Immigration?
Section I. US Immigration Policy: Past and Present
Jan 28 Theoretical Foundations
of Immigration Policy Reform
Feb 2 The
Politics of Restrictionist Immigration Policy:
Closing the Door?
Feb 4 The
Politics of Immigration Policy Reform: Open- and Closed-Doors Policies
Feb 9 The Politics of Immigration Policy
Reform: The Prelude and Rise of the Restrictionist
(and Expansionist) Approach to Illegal
Immigration
Tichenor, Ch 8 “The Rebirth of American Immigration: The Rights Revolution, New Restrictionism, and Policy Deadlock.”
Feb 11. Tichenor Catch-up Day.
Feb 16 A Comparative Perspective
on Immigration Politics and Policies
Gary
P. Freeman and Bob Birrell. Divergent Paths of
Immigration Politics in the United States and Australia, Population and
Development Review, Vol. 27, No. 3 (Sep., 2001), pp. 525-551 902.
Christian Joppke. Are "Nondiscriminatory" Immigration
Policies Reversible? Evidence
from the United States and Australia.
Comparative Political Studies, Vol. 38, No. 1, 3-25 (2005)
Feb 17 Policy Paper Due
Section II. Immigration Policy
and the Mexican Immigration System or Do Fences Work?
Feb 18 Why
do people migrate?
Massey, Chapters 1-3, p. 1-51
Feb 23 History of US-Mexico Migration
Massey, Chapters 4-5 p. 52-104
Feb 25 Policy Implications
Massey, Chapter 6 and 7 p. 105-164
Mar 2 A Contrasting Perspective
Gary P. Freeman, Can Liberal States Control Unwanted Migration? The
ANNALS of the
Mark Krikorian, Immigration Enforcement? Yes, We Can! August 2008 http://www.cis.org/node/742
Mark Krikorian, Enforcement at Work: The strategy of attrition is bearing fruit, http://www.cis.org/OpedsandArticles/EnforcementatWork
Office of Homeland Security, “Immigration Enforcement Actions: 2006, Annual Report,” http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/publications/enforcement_ar_06.pdf
March 4 Migration Continued
Eliot Turner
and Marc Rosenblum, “Solving the Unauthorized Migrant Problem:
Proposed Legislation in the US”
James McKinley
Jr. “Napolitano
Focuses on Immigration Enforcement,” New York Times, August 11, 2009.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/12/us/12border.html
Steven A. Camarota “Use Enforcement to Ease Situation,” http://www.cis.org/articles/2005/camerataoped1005.html
Michael
Dukakis and Daniel Mitchell, “Raise Wages, Not Walls,” New York Times OP-Ed, July 25,
2006.
Alan Greenblat, “The Immigration Debate,” in CQ Researcher 18(5): 97-120.
February 1, 2008.
- Rogers Smith, “Alien Rights, Citizen Rights, and the Politics of
Restriction,” in Swain, 114-126.
March 5 Migration paper due.
Section III. Economic Impact of Immigration: Who wins, who loses?
March 9 Who
comes to America?
Borjas, Heaven’s Door, Preface, Ch 1, 2, 3
Mar 11 Who wins and loses
from immigration?
Borjas, Heaven’s Door, 4, 5, 6
Mar 16 An
Economic Approach to Immigration- A Point System
Borjas, Heaven’s Door, Ch 10-11
March 13-21 Spring Break
Mar 18 The
Opposing View
Executive Office of the President, Council of Economic Advisers,
Immigration’s Economic Impact,
Roger Lowenstein, The Immigration Equation, New York Times, July 9, 2006
Fiscal Policy Institute, Executive Summary, “Working for a Better Life: A Profile of Immigrants in the New York State Economy,” 2007, p. 1-4
Skim Ira Gang and Ann Piehl, Program on Immigrant and Democracy, Destination New Jersey: How Immigrants Benefit The State Economy
Mar 23 Brain Circulation
AnnaLee Saxenian, Brain Circulation: How High-Skill Immigration Makes Everyone Better Off, The Brookings Institution http://www.brookings.edu/articles/2002/winter_immigration_saxenian.aspx
AnnaLee Saxenian, The New Argonauts, Chapter 1 http://thenewargonauts.com/SAXNEW_excerpt.pdf
Skim Richard Florida, Creative Class War: How the GOP's anti-elitism could ruin
Mar 25 Economics Wrap-Up Day
Readings TBD
Mar 26 Economics and Immigration
Paper due
Section IV American Identity in
an Era of Mass Immigration- The Huntington Challenge
Mar 30 A
Crisis in American Identity
Huntington, Foreword, Ch 1 and 3
Apr 1 The
American Identity
Huntington, Ch 4-6, 59-141
Apr 6 Challenges to American
Identity
Huntington, Ch 7 Deconstructing America, and Ch 8 Assimilation
Peruse nativist websites http://www.fairus.org and Dick Lamm,
How to Destroy
Ewa Morawska, Transnationalism
Apr 8 Assimiliation
Huntington, Ch. 9 Mexican Immigration and Hispanization
Jack Citrin, et al. Testing Huntington: Is Hispanic Immigration a Threat to American Identity? Perspectives on Politics (2007), 5:1:31-48
--See also Pew Hispanic Center, Hispanic Attitudes Towards Learning English
--See also Jeffrey Passell, Pew Hispanic Center,Growing Share of Immigrants Choosing Naturalization
Apr 13 Renewing American
Identity
Huntington, Ch 11 and 12
Zolberg. Why Islam is like Spanish: Cultural Incorporation in Europe and the United States, Politics & Society, 1999
Peruse Center for Immigration The French Riots and U.S. Immigration Policy Panel Transcript, http://www.cis.org/articles/2005/frenchriots transcript.html
April 15 Huntington Conclusion
April 16 Huntington American
Identity Paper Due
Section V. Presentations
Apr 20- May 4