JoEllen Lukavec Koester Abstract This thesis aims to demonstrate that recent trends in immigrant integration efforts in selected North American cities can be applied to European cities with the expectation of success. The first section of this thesis considers recent trends in immigrant integration theory, emphasizing those directed at host or receiving populations, and summarizes the approach the Welcoming America organization takes in terms of the integration of immigrants. The second major section of the thesis compares immigrant integration strategies used in Austin, Nashville, Dayton, and Halifax, and speculates as to which of these strategies could be applied with the expectation of success to the European cities of Birmingham and Prague. These European cities have been chosen for comparison specifically because Prague and Birmingham are presently at a critical juncture in the reception and integration of their immigrant populations. Immigration strategy employed in Birmingham and Prague in the next several years will determine, for better or worse, future trends in immigrant integration in these cities. This thesis concludes that by adopting models used in North American cities such as Nashville, Austin, Dayton, and Halifax, the European cities of Prague and Birmingham would strengthen the success of...

Thesis advisor: Min Song / The following work is dedicated to my family to bridge the generational, cultural, and nationalistic differences within my first-generation immigrant family. I explore two contentions that have divided my generation from my parents. First, capitalism, including our relations to work and money, and what it means to become, as Ling Ma puts it in her novel Severance, a “person of use.” Additionally, nationalism, through recording my family’s immigration journey and factors that have informed their sense of identity. The contrasting ways in which my family views work and a sense of belonging has represented the conflict between two disparate ideologies: individualism versus collectivism. While the memoir remains the dominant voice, I include threads of research and interviews with my family members. Ultimately, I recognize that these political and personal threads intertwine and shape each other. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: English.

Doctorat en sciences sociales, politiques et économiques / Vol. 4 (TH-000223) / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Please note: creative writing theses are permanently embargoed in OpenBU. No public access is forecasted for these. To request private access, please click on the locked Download file link and fill out the appropriate web form. / For generations, the Iranian psyche has been scarred by the vicissitudes of history and politics. A series of radical events, among them the 1953 CIA-led coup that ushered in the Pahlavi regime, the Islamic Revolution of 1978, the hostage crisis of 1979, the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-1988, and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, have caused emotional and physical upheavals in the lives of Iranians, scattering them across the planet, fracturing their once-sacred family units, and tangling their personal and collective identities. The twelve stories in Azadi examine these upheavals in fictional form. Against the backdrop of this swath of history, the characters in the stories struggle to retain their sense of themselves, not only as individuals but also as members of a family and a culture. The collection opens a compelling and much-needed window into a rich culture that is both under-represented and superficially depicted in literature from the English-speaking world. / 2031-01-01T00:00:00Z

The purpose of this thesis is to show the short- and long-term responses and adaptations of workers and employers in the meatpacking industry to the new immigration enforcement strategy of the increased use of worksite immigration raids. Worksite raids have become part of the new immigration enforcement strategy of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (I.C.E.). A review of the literature regarding the meatpacking industry, its history, relocation to and impacts on rural communities, and of immigration policy over the last 70 years is conducted. A case study of the Swift & Co. meatpacking plant in Hyrum, Utah that experienced a worksite immigration raid in 2006 and in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with five current and former plant workers, one former member of plant management, and one local ecclesiastical leader. The analysis reveals that the raid had strong impacts on the company, plant management, and workers. The company was sold the year after the raid due to financial losses suffered following the raid. Employers struggled to replace over 150 workers that were taken in the raid and to regain the trust of the remaining workers at the plant. Some workers lost close friends and family members in the raid and experienced instability and fear following the raid. It was found that employers made only one significant change following the raid in their hiring practices. They conducted more in-depth background checks with better follow-up with past employers of new applicants if the information was available. Workers were found to have made few changes after the raid since those not taken in the raid were confirmed as authorized workers and did not need to make many changes. The raid and more in-depth background checks led to more native-born workers being hired following the raid. This research indicates that the use of worksite raids has strong social and economic impacts on workers, employers, and local communities. More research is needed to better understand how the meatpacking industry and its workers are adapting to the new enforcement strategy and how effective this strategy has been, and will be in the future.

This is a creative thesis that contains two components: 1) a critical introduction that defends the representation of mixed-status families and deportation narratives, and 2) a memoir that depicts my experience with deportation and as a member of a mixed-status family. The second component of this thesis will consist of the first four chapters of my memoir, with the remaining chapters to be completed post-graduation. These chapters take place the years before my parents’ deportation and the year immediately after. The memoir is a coming-of-age story that explores my ethnic identity, along with themes such as insider versus outsider. This exploration is represented through the image of the red front door and is the central metaphor of this memoir.

In this article, I draw on secondary interview data with LatinX immigrants in Cache Valley, Utah, an emerging new destination site in the Inter-Mountain West. While immigrants are drawn to new destinations by employment opportunities, quality of life, or low cost of living, they face many challenges in integrating socially into fairly homogenous communities, which can be particularly challenging for immigrant women. This thesis analyzes the ways in which gender affects social integration in the specific cultural and demographic context of Cache Valley. Using interviews with 16 men and women, I examine gender differences in perceptions of the community, experiences of discrimination, and plans to continue to reside within the community. I find high levels of integration among both men and women. Although discrimination and racism are common experiences, many of the respondents were quick to downplay these experiences and focused instead on their overall positive assessment of the community. Women were more attuned to the experience of racism and less willing to downplay it. They also were less likely to have a long-term plan to remain in the community, but this appeared to be more related to their consideration of other family members’ long-term plans, rather than due to their experiences of discrimination. Women’s integration in Cache Valley seems less problematic than in other new destinations, which may be related to demographic, geographic, and cultural factors.

Municipal unauthorized immigration policy, as an area of study, is underexplored. The literature is in the early stages of development, and little specific theory to guide research exists. To advance this emerging field, my study addresses two questions. First, what unauthorized immigration policies do local governments pursue, under what circumstances, and for what reasons? Second, what explains city-to-city variation in municipal responsiveness to the policy preferences and interests of residents without legal status? The dissertation also presents a typology of municipal responsiveness to unauthorized immigrants, based on my exploratory research. To explain intercity differences in the policy processes and choices of local government, I explore three possible explanations--Hero's (1998) social diversity thesis, urban regime theory, and political culture and policy entrepreneurship. My study engages these theoretical ideas with the findings of a comparative case study of three mid-size, reemerging gateway cities: Sacramento, California; Denver, Colorado; and Portland, Oregon. I explore whether associations between local factors and municipal unauthorized immigration policy emerge in the recent history of the three case cities. Analysis of data gleaned from document study suggests that political culture, as expressed through entrepreneurial political leaders, has been important in shaping regime development and subsequent policy action on unauthorized immigration, while differences in the ethnoracial structure of cities accounts for variation in policy approach.

No description available.

This is a study of the gangs that inhabited Philadelphia and its neighboring districts in the mid-nineteenth century. In discussing the drastic societal shifts taking place in major American cities during this period--industrialization, immigration, urbanization, and the solidifying of class lines, this work paints a chaotic scene. Within this tumultuous setting, gangs emerged in working-class neighborhoods to meet two basic needs of their members and the communities they occupied. First, gang membership allowed working-class boys and men to establish shared identities. Utilizing a gender analysis, this study will demonstrate how working-class males developed a distinct version of masculinity. Set in defiance of middle-class values of self-control, wealth accumulation, and respect for the social hierarchy, this brand of masculinity embraced rowdiness, intemperance, and libertinism. Participation in activities such as assault, drinking, and battling rivals allowed gang members to assert their working-class manhood. Additionally, gang membership helped working-class boys and men carve out identities within their own neighborhoods. In the rapidly changing urban landscape, native-born whites, immigrants, and African Americans often lived alongside one another. By forming gangs along ethnic, religious, and political lines, these young men developed a sense of community and camaraderie in a sea of strangers. The second function mid-nineteenth century Philadelphia's gangs served was to empower their members and communities. Through violent attacks, gangs could establish a degree of control over which ethnic, racial, or religious groups lived and worked within their neighborhoods. Second, gangs empowered their members and communities politically. Recognizing their skill in using force, politicians in the mid-nineteenth century allied themselves with gangs in order to win elections. In return for their services, gang members received patronage positions and a degree of protection from the law. To Philadelphia's ruling elites, the poorer masses' increased participation in politics was unacceptable. In an effort to curb the influence of the city's and surrounding districts' gangs, reformers fought to establish a more effective system of law enforcement and to bureaucratize local government. As this thesis argues, the consolidation of Philadelphia and its neighboring districts in 1854 represents the traditional authorities' attempt to wrangle political power from the ward bosses of less affluent communities. / History