John Skrentny and Micah Gell-Redman present their paper, “Obama’s Immigration Reform and the Dynamics of Statutory Entrenchment,” at the Republic of Statutes Conference at Yale Law School, December 10-11, 2010.

Seminar to be held in ERC 115 at 2:00 pm.
Abstract for Professor Weil’s talk coming soon!
Patrick Weil is a Visiting Professor of Law and Robina Foundation International Fellow at Yale Law School and a senior research fellow at the French National Research Center in the University of Paris, Pantheon-Sorbonne.  Professor Weil’s work focuses on comparative immigration, citizenship, and Church States law and policy.  His most recent publications are How to be French?  A Nationality in the Making since 1789, from Duke University Press, “Why the French Laïcité is Liberal, Cardozo Law Review, June 2009, Vol. 30, Number 6, 2699-2714 and …

Meet Khadija Diouf. She is 24 years old, she’s single, she lives in France and she has spent the last three years working in secretarial and accounting jobs. Her surname tells us that she’s descended from Senegalese immigrants, and her first name strongly suggests that she’s Muslim. Hundreds of employers across France will have seen Khadija’s name and none of them would have known the most important thing about her: she doesn’t exist.
Khadija is one of three fake women invented by Claire Adida from the University of California, San Diego, and CCIS Research Associate. They are all part of a …

Co-sponsored by the Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Florida
November 18 2010, 8:45 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
The conference will include two roundtables, the first offering a macro analysis of immigration-related enforcement policies at the national level, the second focused on the experiences of communities throughout the country, where 287 (g) agreements and the Secure Communities program have been implemented. Speakers will include: Maria Hinojosa, senior correspondent, NOW on PBS; David Venturella, executive director, Secure Communities, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Don Kerwin, Vice President for Programs, Migration Policy Institute; Jen Smyers, Associate for Immigration and Refugee …

The role of illegal immigrants has become even more critical because Americans are, on average, much more educated now than half a century ago. The economy needs immigrants to fill the low-skill jobs, some economists say.
In an ideal world, the United States would let in enough foreign workers to do the jobs unwanted by most U.S.-born workers, said Gordon Hanson, an economics professor at the University of California at San Diego and CCIS Research Associate, who grew up in Fresno.
But America’s restrictive immigration system doesn’t allow that. So illegal immigrants fill in the gaps by being the first to enter …

Illegal immigrants still help the economy because their cheap labor drives down the cost of products and services, an issue The Bee will examine Thursday. But those savings are canceled by the cost to government services, at least on a national level, some economists say.
In the Central Valley, their positive and negative impacts are amplified because of our dependence on them. Businesses benefit in a big way while taxpayers cover the costs.
“Residents have to pick up the tab, and employers get away with paying those workers less,” said Gordon Hanson, an economics professor at the University of California at San …

Development: On 11 November the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a report on the prices illegal Mexican immigrants pay to get into the US.
Significance: The DHS working paper argues that the effort and expense the US has put into reinforcing its southwestern border between 1993 and 2006 has pushed up the price illegal migrants have to pay to get into the US. The DHS reckons that the price illegal migrants have to pay people traffickers jumped from US$600 a head in 1993 to US$1,500 in 2007. Pregnant migrants usually pay even more. The DHS working paper found that …

The Center for European Studies
The Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies is dedicated to fostering the study of European history, politics, culture and society at Harvard. Through our graduates, who go on to teach others about Europe and to many other roles in society, the Center sustains America’s knowledge base about Europe, an important contribution to international understanding in difficult times. 
Harvard University
Friday, November 5, 2010
2:15 PM – 4:00 PM, Cabot Room, Busch Hall
John Skrentny
Professor of Sociology
University of California-San Diego
Exclusion and Inclusion in an Expanded Europe Study Group
View Full Agenda»

Recent immigration reform proposals, such as Arizona’s SB1070, have focused on curtailing illegal immigration through increased border enforcement and deportation of unauthorized residents. But border enforcement is expensive and often ineffective. In addition, while foreign workers benefit the U.S. economy–whether they’ve entered legally or illegally–they also increase the tax burden on U.S. citizens. In Regulating Low-Skilled Immigration in the United States (AEI Press, 2010), Gordon H. Hanson, director of the Center on Pacific Economies and CCIS Research Associate, outlines principles for immigration reform that will balance these fiscal costs and benefits. Successful reform, he argues, must attract in-demand workers who …

Gary Lee and John Skrentny present “Korean Multiculturalism in Comparative Perspective” at the “Multiethnic/Multicultural Korea Workshop,” at the Center for Korean Studies, University of California-Berkeley, October 29, 2010.
Learn more about the Center for Korean Studies»