Sociology of immigration

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Hope Square is dedicated to the Children of the Kindertransport, who found hope and safety in Britain through the gateway of Liverpool Street Station. Association of Jewish Refugees, Central British Fund for World Jewish Relief, 2006. Children of the Kindertransport (15535288254).jpg
Hope Square is dedicated to the Children of the Kindertransport, who found hope and safety in Britain through the gateway of Liverpool Street Station. Association of Jewish Refugees, Central British Fund for World Jewish Relief, 2006.

The sociology of immigration involves the sociological analysis of immigration, particularly with respect to race and ethnicity, social structure, and political policy. Important concepts include assimilation, enculturation, marginalization, multiculturalism, postcolonialism, transnationalism and social cohesion.

History

Pre-twentieth century

Nativism has a long history in many societies..

Twentieth century

Global migration during the twentieth century grew particularly during the first half of the century. Due to World War I and World War II, European immigrants came to the United States (for example) in vast[ quantify ] quantities. Particularly following the end (1918) of World War I, some Americans labeled European immigrants as dangerous to American culture. [1] In 1924 the United States Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1924, which placed strict quotas on immigrants entering the United States. [1] During the 1920s -1930s women's citizenship was all dependent on a father or husband, so because of the rules many women used marriage as a way to immigrate. This means that for many women they are tied to becoming either a wife or mother. [2]

From the 1960s to 1990s, the stigma labeling immigrants as "job takers" and "criminals" subsided, and instead Americans began to consider immigrants as benefactors to the American economy, culture, and political system. [3] Although the negative labels that immigrants were given during the first half of the twentieth century influenced their actions in society and self-perceptions (known as labeling theory in sociology), immigrants now began to assimilate more easily into society and to form strong social networks that contributed to their acquisition of social capital—the "information, knowledge of people or things, and connections that help individuals enter, gain power in, or otherwise leverage social networks". [4]

Twenty-first century

Sociologists have studied immigration closely in the twenty-first century. In the United States, compared to the majority of European immigrants during the early twentieth century, the twenty-first century witnessed the arrival of immigrants predominately from Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. From 2000 to 2001,[ clarification needed ] sociologists have paid particular attention to the costs and benefits of the new diversified immigration population on American institutions, culture, economic functions, and national security. [1] After the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, sociologists closely analyzed the symbolism of increased anti-immigration rhetoric, directed at Middle Eastern immigrants, stemming from Americans. Structural functionalist theorists have also studied the effects of mass migration—resulting from wars, economic insecurity, and terrorism—on the social institutions of host nations, on international law, and on assimilation rates. Additionally, sociologists using social-conflict theory have analyzed, in particular, labor-market conflicts allegedly resulting from increased marketplace competition due to the rise in competition between immigrants and native workers for jobs and social mobility. [5] Because rates of global immigration continue to increase, [6] the field of sociology has a particular interest in monitoring twenty-first century immigration as it relates to the foundational theories of symbolic interactionism, social conflict, and structural functionalism.[ citation needed ]

Generational change

In immigration studies, social scientists assign distinct definitions to various immigrant generations. In sociology, the word "generation" is used as a "measure of distance from the 'old country'". [7] This means that sociologists define people who move to (in the case of immigrants migrating to the United States) the United States from another society, as adults, as "first generation" immigrants, their American-born children as "second generation" immigrants, and their children in turn as "third generation" immigrants. [8]

During the mid-twentieth century in the United States, the first, second, and third generations of immigrants displayed distinct characteristics. Second-generation immigrants, having immigrant parents who witnessed the historical events unfolding in the mid-twentieth century, developed a distinct social identity both in themselves and in popular American culture. In the late 1930s, American historian Marcus Lee Hansen observed "distinct differences in attitudes toward ethnic identity between the second generation and their third-generation children". [9] Whereas the second generation was anxious to assimilate, the third generation was sentimentally invested in "ethnicity", which sociologist Dalton Conley defines as "one's ethnic quality or affiliation". [10] However, twenty-first century immigrants now assimilate more than their twentieth-century predecessors, most notably in the transition to using English—among immigrants who move to the United States—as the primary language for communication.

While contemporary immigrant generations share common ethnic backgrounds and cultures, there are differences in the level of social mobility, economic achievement, educational attainment, and familial relations among the members of those generations.[ citation needed ]

Three sociological perspectives

Symbolic interactionism

Symbolic interactionism is a "micro-level theory in which shared meanings, orientations, and assumptions form the basic motivations behind people's actions". [11] This theory, as opposed to macrosociology, is focused on how face-to-face interactions create the social world.

In order to understand how perceptions of immigrants are formed and constructed, symbolic interactionism theory has been utilized. Immigration into the United States has been on the rise since 1965. [12] Public opinion polls have demonstrated "that the percentage of Americans who wanted immigration decreased to be very low immediately prior to 1965, but had begun an upward incline from 1965 to the late 1970s at which time it thereafter increased dramatically". [12] One of the reasons why there is a negative native response to increased immigration is because of the often-negative images of immigrants being elicited by the media. Moreover, immigration legislation, such as the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, increased anti-immigration sentiment, and nativist rhetoric, and social movements in the United States. [12] Perceived group threat also has been proven to maintain an important role in explaining Americans' attitude toward immigrants. [13] Fear of foreigners altering aspects of the established culture, such as the native language, results in nativist sentiment and further polarization. Together, these instances illustrate the significance of immigrants' master status in shaping how others perceive them, and how they perceive themselves. For example, the racial stigma that Mexican immigrants encounter in the United States "reinforces the low status and the self perceptions of Mexican Americans". [14] When Mexican Americans internalize this perception of their race, they begin to act accordingly and indirectly reinforce this perception.

The rise in islamophobia in the United States, after the attacks on the World Trade Center, is an example of symbolic interactionism in practice. After the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, "Arabs and Muslims (as well as Latinos, South Asians, and other individuals who were mistakenly perceived to be Arab or Muslim based on their skin color, dress, or organizational affiliations) suffered an unprecedented outbreak of backlash violence" because of assumptions by others that they were terrorists who intended to do harm to Americans. [15] In the days and months following the 9/11 attacks, Muslims and Arabs were subject to hate crimes based on personal characteristics such as their clothing, accent, facial hair, and skin tone. From a symbolic interactionist perspective, the violent attacks against Arabs and Muslims resulted from the shared assumptions and meanings that Americans attributed to Arab and Muslim people and culture.

Social conflict

Social conflict theory is a sociological perspective that views society as a constant struggle for power and resources. This theory holds that competition between competing interests is a central function of society. Social conflict theorists believe that competition for power and resources results in social change.

Since the early nineteenth century, advocates and opponents of immigration have analyzed the economic effects of immigration on national economies and workforces. Opponents of national increases in immigration rates have argued that restricting immigration "improves the economic well-being of native workers". [16] Immigration, opponents argue, causes unemployment for native workers. The reasoning behind this argument is that immigrant peoples compete with the native peoples for jobs and resources. This increased competition results in more jobs going to immigrant workers since it costs less for employers to hire a highly skilled immigrant that just came into the U.S and doesn't really know any English, than a low-skilled native worker. However, advocates of immigration argue that immigration improves a nations economy since more people enter the workforce, thus resulting in higher productivity and increased competition in the labor market. Additionally, proponents argue that the native population benefits from immigration since "immigrants increase the demand for goods and services produced by native workers and firms". [17] Social conflict theorists suggest that the competition between native workers and immigrant workers, for economic achievement and social mobility, is at the crux of the immigration debate as it relates to economics.

A common fear is that immigration will alter the native culture of a nation. In the discipline of sociology, "culture" is defined as a "set of beliefs, traditions, and practices". [18]

Structural functionalism of Immigrants

Structural functionalism is a sociological perspective "claiming that every society has certain structures that exist to fulfill some set of necessary functions". [19] Drawing on the ideas of sociologist Émile Durkheim, society through this sociological lens is thought of as a living organism—similar to the nineteenth-century theory of organicism .

Regarding the economy of a society, immigrants play a prominent role in maintaining, disrupting, and/or contributing to the social cohesion. For example, since the 1980s and 1990s, the American economy has favored workers who have valuable skills to offer. If immigrants to the United States, for example, have valuable skills to offer, they may "increase the chances of economic success in the United States, such as the language and culture of the American workplace". [20] The human capital and physical resources that immigrants may have to offer can complement those that already exist in the American economy. Structural functionalists believe that, whether the effects are positive or negative, immigration significantly impacts the level of social cohesion in the workplace. This analysis of social cohesion is closely related to the work of sociologist Émile Durkheim.

Sociologists utilizing structural functionalism would explain that immigration serves the function of a unifier for the immigrant population in a foreign society. Especially in the nineteenth century and early twentieth century, immigrants in the United States tended to socialize with people of similar ethnic backgrounds in order to experience group solidarity during a time of intense resocialization. This feeling of group solidarity led to increased social capital, which held people together and decreased the sense of anomie among immigrants, which is a "sense of aimlessness or despair that arises when we can no longer reasonably expect life to be predictable". [21] Immigration, therefore, served as a mechanism for social networks to be built among immigrant populations during a period of intense resocialization and prevalent cases of anomic suicide.

Transnationalism

A more contemporary sociological analysis of immigration can be explored within the concept of transnationalism. This analysis is perhaps more concerned with the relational dimensions of immigration, particularly in terms of the ways in which families and relationships are maintained when members migrate to another country. Theorist Zlatko Skrbis argues that within a transnational network of families, the patterns of migration are intertwined with notions of 'emotion' and 'belonging'. [22]

Sociology of peace, war, and social conflict

The refugees as weapons is analyzed as forced experience of mass exodus of refugees from a state to a hostile state as a "weapon."

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Immigration to the United States</span>

Immigration to the United States has been a major source of population growth and cultural change throughout much of its history. In absolute numbers, the United States has by far the highest number of immigrants in the world, with 50,661,149 people as of 2019. This represents 19.1% of the 244 million international migrants worldwide, and 14.4% of the United States' population. In 2018, there were almost 90 million immigrants and U.S.-born children of immigrants in the United States, accounting for 28% of the overall U.S. population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human migration</span> Movement of people for their benefit

Human migration is the movement of people from one place to another, with intentions of settling, permanently or temporarily, at a new location. The movement often occurs over long distances and from one country to another, but internal migration is the dominant form of human migration globally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urban sociology</span> Sociological study of life and human interaction in metropolitan areas

Urban sociology is the sociological study of cities and urban life. One of the field’s oldest sub-disciplines, urban sociology studies and examines the social, historical, political, cultural, economic, and environmental forces that have shaped urban environments. Like most areas of sociology, urban sociologists use statistical analysis, observation, archival research, census data, social theory, interviews, and other methods to study a range of topics, including poverty, racial residential segregation, economic development, migration and demographic trends, gentrification, homelessness, blight and crime, urban decline, and neighborhood changes and revitalization. Urban sociological analysis provides critical insights that shape and guide urban planning and policy-making.

Cultural assimilation is the process in which a minority group or culture comes to resemble a society's majority group or assimilates the values, behaviors, and beliefs of another group whether fully or partially.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethnic enclave</span> Geographical spot with high concentration of certain ethnic groups

In sociology, an ethnic enclave is a geographic area with high ethnic concentration, characteristic cultural identity, and economic activity. The term is usually used to refer to either a residential area or a workspace with a high concentration of ethnic firms. Their success and growth depends on self-sufficiency, and is coupled with economic prosperity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saskia Sassen</span> Dutch-American sociologist (born 1947)

Saskia Sassen is a Dutch-American sociologist noted for her analyses of globalization and international human migration. She is a professor of sociology at Columbia University in New York City, and the London School of Economics. The term global city was coined and popularized by Sassen in her 1991 work, The Global City: New York, London, Tokyo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dalton Conley</span> American sociologist

Dalton Clark Conley is an American sociologist. Conley is a professor at Princeton University and has written eight books, including a memoir and a sociology textbook.

Chain migration is the social process by which immigrants from a particular area follow others from that area to a particular destination. The destination may be in another country or in a new location within the same country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Immigration</span> Movement of people into another country or region to which they are not native

Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short-term stays in a destination country do not fall under the definition of immigration or migration; seasonal labour immigration is sometimes included, however.

Social integration is the process during which newcomers or minorities are incorporated into the social structure of the host society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglas Massey</span> American sociologist (born 1952)

Douglas Steven Massey is an American sociologist. Massey is currently a professor of Sociology at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and is an adjunct professor of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania.

In sociology, people who permanently resettle to a new country are considered immigrants, regardless of the legal status of their citizenship or residency. The United States Census Bureau (USCB) uses the term "generational status" to refer to the place of birth of an individual or an individual's parents. First-generation immigrants are the first foreign-born family members to gain citizenship or permanent residency in the country. People beyond the first generation are not "immigrants" in the strictest sense of the word and, depending on local laws, may have received citizenship from birth. The categorization of immigrants into generations helps sociologists and demographers track how the children and subsequent generations of immigrant forebears compare to sections of the population that do not have immigrant background or to equivalent generations of prior eras.

Victor G. Nee is an American sociologist and professor at Cornell University, known for his work in economic sociology, inequality and immigration. He published a book with Richard Alba entitled Remaking the American Mainstream proposing a neo-assimilation theory to explain the assimilation of post-1965 immigrant minorities and the second generation. In 2012, he published Capitalism from Below co-authored with Sonja Opper examining the rise of economic institutions of capitalism in China. Nee is the Frank and Rosa Rhodes Professor, and Director of the Center for the Study of Economy and Society at Cornell University. Nee received the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in 2007, and has been a visiting fellow at the Russell Sage Foundation in New York ( 1994–1995), and the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (1996-1997). He was awarded an honorary doctorate in Economics by Lund University in Sweden in 2013.

Ethnic succession theory is a theory in sociology stating that ethnic and racial groups entering a new area may settle in older neighborhoods or urban areas until achieving economic parity with certain economic classes. The concept of succession is well established in "both ecological and economic models of urban residential change." As the newer group becomes economically successful, it moves to a better residential area. With continued immigration, a new ethnic group will settle in the older neighborhood in a similar starting situation. This pattern will continue, creating a succession of groups moving through the neighborhood over time. Ethnic succession has taken place in most major United States cities, but is most well known in New York City, where this process has been observed since the 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of immigration to the United States</span>

The history of immigration to the United States details the movement of people to the United States from the colonial era to the present day. Throughout U.S. history, the country experienced successive waves of immigration, particularly from Europe and later on from Asia and Latin America. Colonial-era immigrants often repaid the cost of transoceanic transportation by becoming indentured servants in which the new employer paid the ship's captain. In the late 19th century, immigration from China and Japan was restricted. In the 1920s, restrictive immigration quotas were imposed but political refugees had special status. Numerical restrictions ended in 1965. In recent years, the largest numbers of immigrants to the United States have come from Asia and Central America.

Mary C. Waters is an American sociologist, demographer and author. She is the John L. Loeb Professor of Sociology and the PVK Professor of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University. Much of her work has focused on immigrants, the meaning of racial and ethnic identity, and how immigrants integrate into a new society. Waters chaired the 2015 National Research Council Panel on The Integration of Immigrants into American Society.

Rubén G. Rumbaut is a prominent Cuban-American sociologist and a leading expert on immigration and refugee resettlement in the United States. He is Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Irvine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Claghorn</span> American sociologist and Progressive Era activist

Kate Holladay Claghorn was an American sociologist, economist, statistician, legal scholar, and Progressive Era activist, who became one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patricia Fernández-Kelly</span> American social anthropologist and academic

Patricia Fernández-Kelly is a social anthropologist, academic and researcher. She is Professor of Sociology and Research Associate at the Office of Population Research at Princeton University. She is also the director of the Princeton Center for Migration and Development, associate director of the Program in American Studies, and Chair of the Board at the Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund (LALDEF).

Immigration to the United States has many effects on the culture and politics of the United States.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Fleegler, Robert (2013). Haney Foundation Series : Ellis Island Nation : Immigration Policy and American Identity in the Twentieth Century. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 1. ISBN   9780812223385.
  2. ↑ Gardner, Martha (2005-12-31). The Qualities of a Citizen. Princeton: Princeton University Press. doi:10.1515/9781400826575. ISBN   978-1-4008-2657-5.
  3. ↑ Fleegler, Robert (2013). Haney Foundation Series : Ellis Island Nation : Immigration Policy and American Identity in the Twentieth Century. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 2. ISBN   9780812223385.
  4. ↑ Conley, Dalton (2013). You May Ask Yourself: An Introduction to Thinking Like a Sociologist (4 ed.). New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company. p. 166. ISBN   978-0-393-93774-9.
  5. ↑ Compare: Vallejo, Jody Agius (2015). Immigration and Work. Research in the Sociology of Work. Vol. 27. Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Limited. p. xi. ISBN   9781784416324. In the United States, immigrants start businesses at higher rates that the native born [...]. and immigrants or their offspring have founded more than 40 percent of Fortune 500 companies [...] Aging populations and declining population growth among long-settled natives in nations around the world means [sic] that immigrants and their native-born children will play a crucial role in future economies and labor markets. [...] In the United States, 93 percent of the growth of the working-age population by 2050 will be accounted for by immigrants and their native-born children [...].
  6. ↑ Llosa, Alvaro Vargas (2013). Global Crossings : Immigration, Civilization, and America. Oakland, CA: Independent Institute. p. 3. ISBN   9781598131338.
  7. ↑ Marrow, Helen; Ueda, Reed; Waters, Mary (2007). The New Americans : A Guide to Immigration since 1965. New York, NY: Harvard University Press. p. 270. ISBN   9780674023574.
  8. ↑ Marrow, Helen; Ueda, Reed; Waters, Mary (2007). The New Americans : A Guide to Immigration since 1965. New York, NY: Harvard University Press. p. 270. ISBN   9780674023574.
  9. ↑ Marrow, Helen; Ueda, Reed; Waters, Mary (2007). The New Americans : A Guide to Immigration since 1965. New York, NY: Harvard University Press. p. 271. ISBN   9780674023574.
  10. ↑ Conley, Dalton (2013). You May Ask Yourself: An Introduction to Thinking Like a Sociologist (4 ed.). New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. p. 333. ISBN   978-0-393-93774-9.
  11. ↑ Conley, Dalton (2013). You May Ask Yourself: An Introduction to Thinking Like a Sociologist (Fourth ed.). New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. p. 31. ISBN   978-0-393-93774-9.
  12. 1 2 3 Sobczak, Michael (July 2010). The New Americans: Recent Immigration and American Society : American Attitudes toward Immigrants and Immigration Policy (1). El Paso, Texas: LFB Scholarly Publishing LLC. p. 9. ISBN   9781593323868.
  13. ↑ Sobczak, Michael (2010). The New Americans: Recent Immigration and American Society : American Attitudes toward Immigrants and Immigration Policy (1). El Paso, Texas: LFB Scholarly Publishing LLC. p. 137. ISBN   9781593323868.
  14. ↑ Uggen, Hartmann (2012). The Contexts Reader (2 ed.). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. p. 275. ISBN   9780393912326.
  15. ↑ Peek, Lori (2010). Behind the Backlash : Muslim Americans After 9/11. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press. p. 28. ISBN   9781592139828.
  16. ↑ Borjas, George (2011). Heaven's Door : Immigration Policy and the American Economy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. p. 62. ISBN   9780691088969.
  17. ↑ Borjas, George (2011). Heaven's Door : Immigration Policy and the American Economy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. p. 87. ISBN   9780691088969.
  18. ↑ Conley, Dalton (2013). You May Ask Yourself: An Introduction to Thinking Like a Sociologist (4 ed.). New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. p. 75. ISBN   978-0-393-93774-9.
  19. ↑ Conley, Dalton (2013). You May Ask Yourself: An Introduction to Thinking Like A Sociologist (4 ed.). New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. p. A-8. ISBN   978-0-393-93774-9.
  20. ↑ Borjas, George (2011). Heaven's Door : Immigration Policy and the American Economy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. p. 19. ISBN   9780691088969.
  21. ↑ Conley, Dalton (2013). You May Ask Yourself: An Introduction to Thinking Like a Sociologist (4 ed.). New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. p. 25. ISBN   978-0-393-93774-9.
  22. ↑ Skrbis, Z (2008). "Transnational Families: Theorizing Migration Emotions and Belonging". Journal of Intercultural Studies. 29 (3): 231–246. doi:10.1080/07256860802169188. S2CID   144729772.
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