Showing papers in "Journal of International Migration and Integration \/ Revue De L'integration Et De La Migration Internationale in 2009"

Diamonds in the Rough: Bridging Gaps in Supports for At-Risk Immigrant and Refugee Youth

Abstract: Immigrant youth come to Canada with enormous potential to make a significant, positive contribution to the future of their adopted country. In many cases, this potential is realised; in others, it is not. The ease with which immigrant youth and their families integrate into Canadian society has a strong impact on their futures; those who become marginalised during this process risk becoming alienated or involved with the criminal justice system. Interviews were conducted with 12 stakeholders (including representatives from social service agencies, community groups and the criminal justice and forensic mental health systems) who frequently come into contact with immigrant and refugee youth involved in criminal and/or gang activity. Based on the family, individual, peer, school and community risk and protective factors reported to have an influence on immigrant and refugee youth, recommendations are made for bridging gaps in programming and policy initiatives to support at-risk youth.

Unequal Before the Law: Immigrant and Racial Minority Perceptions of the Canadian Criminal Justice System

Abstract: This paper examines attitudes towards the criminal justice system among a large, diverse sample of residents from Toronto, Canada. The results indicate that while most residents positively evaluate the performance of the police and criminal courts, black and Chinese Canadians have less favorable views than whites. Compared to whites, racial minority respondents are also much more likely to perceive various forms of discrimination within the justice system. Perceptions of racial bias are particularly widespread among black respondents. Interestingly, these racial differences cannot be explained by immigration patterns. Indeed, regardless of race, attitudes towards the justice system are most positive among recent immigrants. However, attitudes become less favorable with time spent in Canada and are most negative among Canadian-born racial minorities. The paper concludes with a discussion of the theoretical and policy implications of these findings.

To Stay or Return: Migration Intentions of Students from People’s Republic of China in Saskatchewan, Canada

Abstract: There is a growing policy concern in Canada regarding the facilitation of foreign students’ transition from temporary residents to permanent residents. Interestingly, academic attention to the issue is somewhat lacking. By focusing on the Chinese undergraduate student at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, this study attempts to identify the factors which influence their migration intentions. The findings confirm the important effects of students’ demographic characteristics, premove traits, Canadian experiences, parental expectations, as well as related aspiration factors. In addition, we find that female and male students are different from each other in terms of the factors that determine their intentions to stay in Canada. In light of the findings, we suggest that, in spite of gender differences, social and emotional adaptations are as critical as economic adaptation in facilitating temporary residents’ intentions to stay. Furthermore, we contend that changes in immigration policy to attract foreign students to stay do motivate their immigration intention to some extent, but we also recommend that extended research needs to be done to examine the effects of most recent policy changes on foreign students’ intended or actual migration.

“Tell Me What I Need to Know”: South Asian Women, Social Capital and Settlement

Abstract: This paper reports on the findings of in-depth interviews with 50 South Asian immigrant women in Toronto regarding their settlement needs and the role of social capital in meeting these needs. The main findings discussed in this paper relate to the emergence of information as the most important settlement need and the ways in which information and orientation were obtained. Participants were found to rely on informal networks of friends and relatives as the most exhaustive and specific source of information and orientation.

Changing Chinese Migration Law: From Restriction to Relaxation

Abstract: This paper offers new insights into Chinese migration law since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, set against a backdrop of briefly examined historical developments in international migration law. Despite significant changes during its years of reform and opening up—with the massive influx of foreigners into, and exodus of Chinese citizens from, China—Chinese migration law is still restrictive and unadvanced. As part of its reform and opening-up policies, China has been relaxing its control on persons crossing its border, and advancing its exit and entry administration. The paper also offers an exploration of fresh perspectives on Chinese migration law’s history, including insights into the comparative value—for Chinese migration law—of international migration law experiences.

Immigrant Religiosity in Canada: Multiple Trajectories

Abstract: Although much research focuses on the economic and linguistic adaptation of immigrants to their new societies, it is rare to find research that studies the religious adaptation of immigrants at a national level. Using longitudinal data among immigrants to Canada in 2001, hypothesized trajectories of immigrant religiosity during initial settlement controlling for a number of individual and contextual level factors are explored. Religious group membership increases a few years after migration and then falls back to earlier levels within 4 years after migration. However, religious participation declines throughout the adaptation process, while the likelihood of religious volunteerism dramatically increases. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of potential explanations for these seemingly contradictory trajectories.

Immigrant residential geographies and the ‘spatial assimilation’ debate in Canada, 1997–2007

Abstract: This paper discusses research published between 1997 and 2007 on the residential concentration of immigrants and ethnic and visible minority groups in Canadian metropolitan centres. Specifically, it reviews findings and conclusions that relate to the ongoing debate over the validity of assimilationist perspective assumptions regarding the typical social and spatial trajectory of newcomers. A Canadian immigrant underclass thesis is generally rejected, but some evidence emerges to suggest a potential bifurcation of the assumed pattern of sociospatial mobility. The traditional assumptions would hold for most groups, yet significant exceptions would justify an alteration of the model, essentially de-linking social from spatial mobility in the case of certain groups. Methodological considerations underlying this proposition are discussed.

Are Immigrants Socially Isolated? An Assessment of Neighbors and Neighboring in Canadian Cities

Abstract: Recently, the media have expressed concern about the apparent concentration and social isolation of immigrants in central and inner suburban neighborhoods in large Canadian cities. This paper compares and contrasts the frequency and nature of neighborhood-based social contacts among three cohorts of immigrants distinguished by their period of arrival in Canada and Canadian-born individuals. We begin by outlining the family, friend, and acquaintance relationships that immigrants build and argue that their networks are culturally diverse and dominated by acquaintances. In this context, intense friendships rarely develop between neighbors, even for recent newcomers. Rather, neighboring consists mainly of casual interactions between individuals that often involve the provision of mundane forms of assistance. Despite their fleeting and routine qualities, social relations with neighbors lead the vast majority of people to express strong levels of belonging to their neighborhoods. As a consequence, we argue that the neighborhood is an underestimated locale for understanding social inclusion.

Immigration, Trade and Home Country Development: State-Level Variation in the US Immigrant-Export Link

Abstract: This article examines the pro-trade influence of immigrants using data on state-level exports from the 48 contiguous USA to 28 countries during the year 1993. Immigrants from lesser developed countries are found to exert stronger proportional effects on state-level exports relative to the immigrants from more developed countries. Calculation of absolute immigrant effects at state, regional and national levels also reveal influences of immigrants from developing countries are of greater magnitude; however, results depend on the metric employed to categorize countries as developing or developed. The findings emphasize the importance of immigrants’ connections to business and social networks and allow for an improved understanding of the role that information asymmetries play in fomenting opportunities for immigrants to enhance trade.

Displacing Danger: Managing Crime Through Deportation

Abstract: This paper traces the development of the introduction of Bill C-44, the “danger to the public” clause that amended the Immigration Act of Canada in 1995, and considers the effects of the amendment to Canadian deportation policy on Jamaican nationals living in Canada. Starting with an examination of the increase in criminal deportation to Jamaica from Canada, the paper draws attention to the overall increases in total deportations to Jamaica from other countries including the USA and the UK between 1990 and 2004. Official crime statistics, and interviews with deported individuals and other Jamaican stakeholders are used to highlight the negative effects of deportation on deported persons and on the Jamaican society. The paper concludes with a discussion of deportation as a form of punishment and considers the implications of current deportation practices on global conceptions of security.

Selective networking as identity project: the social integration of first generation immigrants in Norway

Abstract: Many immigrants try to gain positive recognition in their everyday lives through the active and selective rearrangement of social relations with members of the host community and their own ethnic groups. Amongst other things, their selectivity with respect to who they want to be associated with are expressed through their ethno-social preferences, as well as through the kinds of ties and the sociable intensity they have with their Norwegian and compatriot friends and acquaintances. In this article, I argue that there are tensions and dilemmas connected to these friendships. These tensions can be partly illuminated if we distinguish between the interactional aspects of the ties and the symbolic values that immigrants attach to these ties. The main argument is that for many immigrants, the weak tie attachment to Norwegians seems to be the preferable path of social integration into the mainstream society. Given the focus on immigrants’ voices, the data was gathered through qualitative interviews. Other methods of gathering empirical data, such as from observations, are also used.

Discontinuités culturelles et linguistiques: Portraits d’immigrants francophones en milieu minoritaire

Abstract: Using ethnographic methods, this article explores the experiences and the challenges that immigrants face in the areas of language and culture. Seven narratives on social integration, school experiences, and more generally life experiences as immigrants, were used to explore the phenomenon of cultural and linguistic discontinuities in a francophone minority context in Manitoba. A thematic analysis reveals specific linguistic and sociocultural challenges that need to be addressed in community organizations. This article offers suggestions for more equitable and inclusive practices.

Recruiting migrant nurses to fill the gaps: the contribution of migrant women in the nursing care sector in Greece

Abstract: The study examines the complex and stratified nature of the health care profession in Greece, which is increasingly staffed and thus shaped by female migrants. The research explores how immigrant labour is drawn on to fill the most urgent needs in the lower end of the nursing care sector, how immigrant labour gains access to these jobs, the implications of the recruitment process and the effect of these factors on the local labour market structure. It is shown that a predominantly female migrant cohort provides a ready source of nursing care, both complementing and further stratifying the local labour market while also contributing to the sustainability and reinforcement of the segmented health care arena.

Global Banking and Financial Services to Immigrants in Canada and the US

Abstract: It is important to consider how financial institutions are adjusting their operational strategies because of the changing dynamics of financial resource and population flows. This paper compares the ways in which globally prominent banks provide financial services to immigrants in Canada and the US and addresses the following two research questions: (1) How has HSBC reacted strategically and operationally to people–money comovements involving immigrants, in which HSBC has ethnic assets, in the US and Canada? (2) What are the similarities and differences in HSBC’s strategic choices in entering or expanding in the San Francisco and Vancouver areas, and what explains such differences?

Francophonie albertaine et inclusion des nouveaux arrivants: post mortem à un débat sur un changement de nom

Abstract: On October 13th, 2006, a controversial item appeared on the agenda of the Annual General Meeting of ACFA : a name change for this organization, the official representative of Francophones in Alberta. Discussions prior to the vote revealed the substantial problems the organization is facing in creating a sense of community among Francophones in the province.

L’adhésion des populations immigrantes à la valeur de l’autonomie véhiculée en santé publique

Abstract: Autonomy, a basic ethical value in public health, is regularly put under pressure by the demands of empowerment, rights of individuals and healthy communities. This article describes the results of a study about the support of non-immigrants and immigrants subjects (n = 137) from the Montreal area on the value of autonomy conveyed in six public health programs. The results indicate that non-immigrants Quebecers and longstanding immigrants differ from recent immigrants concerning activities about commitment of fathers, poverty families, screening for sexually transmitted diseases and treatment of tuberculosis.

Scientific, political, ethical, or pragmatic issues in the collection of ethnic statistics: an exploratory survey in public institutions in Montréal

Abstract: In recent years, ethnic statistics have been at the core of a passionate debate in many Europeans countries. This debate has been as much about the political legitimacy of ethnoracial data collection in the census as it has been about the scientific legitimacy of ethnic statistics to understand social inequality and discrimination. These questions have not provoked the same kind of intense debate among academics in Canada. However, very few studies have examined the relevance of these issues beyond the census. This paper presents results of an exploratory study conducted with 14 major public institutions across diverse sectors including health, law enforcement and public safety, social services, and housing in Montreal. Investigating which institutions collects ethnic statistics and why, the study examined the political, scientific, ethical, and pragmatic issues raised by local managers.