Localities in the Chicago metropolitan area present a broad spectrum of government responses to increased immigration, ranging from integrative and inclusive polices to extremely restrictive and exclusionary policies for Latin Americans. In order to address this disparity in local immigration policy, Nilda Flores-Gonzalez, Associate Professor of Sociology and Latin American and Latino Studies at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC); Andy Clarno, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at UIC; and Xochitl Bada, Assistant Professor of Latin American and Latino studies at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at UIC have created a multi-year, multi-method research project in order to understand the policy direction taken by different localities in response to changes in demographics. Their article, “New Destinations in an Old Gateway: The Interplay between Public and Private Actors in Shaping Local Immigration Policy,” specifically examines how both citizens and non-citizens participate in the political sphere and how their involvement is supported or limited by institutions and organizations as well as by local reception of immigration. The study, then, was divided into two areas: (1) government and public institutions and (2) non-citizen individuals and organizations.
Because this project is ongoing, data analysis is limited. However, the results that are available show a trend of unanticipated findings that challenge the method of classifying communities within the range of integrative to restrictive based solely on the direction of public policy. For example, the findings reveal that resident’s attitudes towards immigration are not necessarily reflected in public policy; a community might have a generally negative attitude towards immigration, however their policies might be integrative. This proves that communities assigned descriptors such as “integrative,” “restrictive,” or “neutral” do not always accurately represent the attitudes of its residents and thus should not be used as all-encompassing labels.
The research team will continue to analyze its data throughout Fall 2011. In Spring 2012, the team will begin holding public meetings in each of the study’s six localities in order to present the findings to those who helped make the study possible.
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