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May 13-14, 2010, Weaver Conference Center, UC San Diego
The UC Center of Expertise on Migration and Health (COEMH), Is a component of the UC-wide Global Health Institute). The COEMH is a ten-campus, interdisciplinary program whose mission is to improve health and eliminate health disparities of international migrants, refugees, and internally displaced people …

An op-ed by Emily Puhl, a current participant in the Mexican Migration Field Research Program (MMFRP), was published in the Des Moines Register. The op-ed cites MMFRP data to argue that increased border enforcement has not been successful in keeping undocumented immigrants from entering the United States.

Begins at 2:00 in the Eleanor Roosevelt Administration Building Conference Room
Italy has one of the fastest-growing immigrant populations in Europe. In this presentation, Calavita explores immigration law, the role of immigrant labor in the economy, and the racialization of immigrants in Italy. She notes that Italy has one of the lowest birthrates in the world and one of the oldest populations, and that immigrants help offset population declines and provide a critical labor force in many sectors and jobs at wages eschewed by Italians. She analyzes the current political backlash and racialization of immigrants within the context of a fundamental contradiction …

CCIS Associate Director David FitzGerald is featured in several CBS 60 Minutes “web extra” interviews. The segments were shot for a report on the All-American Canal.
Illegal Immigration: The Hard Facts

Militarizing the Border

Border Control

” … But if you successfully frame any policy as part of national security, there will be a greater chance of passing it, said John Skrentny, a sociology professor and director of the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies at the University of California at San Diego.
Such was the case in the late 1950s with the passing of the National Defense Education Act, Skrentny said. For years, people believed the school funding was a local issue and that the federal government should not get involved, even though campuses were struggling, the professor said. That changed when the Soviet Union launched its …

” … Political scientist Wayne Cornelius has found that notwithstanding increased border enforcement measures, eventual crossing success rates have remained consistently high (in the 97 percent range from 2005 to 2007), even for unauthorized immigrants who are apprehended by the Border Patrol. However, border enforcement strategies have increased smuggler fees and have pushed migrants to more remote and dangerous crossing routes. … ”
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CCIS Associate Director David FitzGerald was consulted for a recent Slate Explainer column about Mexican immigration laws.
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” … Just as in 2006, some Democrats are clamoring for immigration reforms, including easing pathways to citizenship, while Republicans are insisting that more security on the border must come first. Policy experts, meanwhile, say the outcome for immigration changes this year will likely be the same as back then: nothing. “I don’t see productive discussions on immigration this year,” said John Skrentny, director of the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies at the University of California, San Diego. … ”
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Clarissa Clo – Second Generations in Italy: Culture, Identity, and the Challenge of Citizenship
Please listen (above) to the Research Seminar given by Clarissa Clo on April 27, 2010. We also encourage you to subscribe to our CCIS Podcast and listen to all of our research seminars for free!
Begins at 2:00 in the Eleanor Roosevelt Administration Building Conference Room
Recent cultural productions by second generations in Italy offer an alternative and multifaceted representation of contemporary society while illuminating the impact and flaws of the current immigration and citizenship legislation. This multifarious body of work illustrates the range of …

CCIS Associate Director David FitzGerald will speak at the Forum on Migration at Barnard College. Information about his talk is below.
Citizenship a la Carte: Emigration and the Mexican State
Monday, 4/26, 7 PM
Sulzberger Parlor
3rd Floor Barnard Hall
Against the claims of many scholars of globalization and transnationalism, Fitzgerald argues that the Westphalian principle of territorial sovereignty is strengthening in ways that has encouraged the Mexican government to renegotiate the terms of the social contract between emigrants and the Mexican state. This new social contract emphasizes voluntaristic ties, a menu of options for expressing membership, an emphasis on rights over obligations, and the legitimacy …