Understanding Diversity in the Phenomenon of Immigrant Organizations: A Comprehensive Framework

Voluntary immigrant organizations are a worldwide phenomenon. Yet, despite the fact that all of these organizations were founded as a consequence of immigration, their actual characteristics and activities are very diverse, and even in some cases, immigrants do not found organizations at all. Therefore, this paper deals with the question: under which conditions are different associations founded—and when are they not founded? Following a brief mapping of the wide category of immigrant organizations, the paper discusses the term immigrant organization itself and suggests a definition. Finally, the paper outlines a comprehensive and systematic framework, which integrates findings of the existing literature as well as adding some new factors. Within this framework, four main variables are particularly relevant in determining the uniqueness of each immigrant organization: (1) the attributes of the immigrant population, (2) the characteristics of the country of origin, (3) gaps vis-à-vis the host society, and (4) attitudes and policies of the host society in relation to immigrants. Combinations of these four variables, which are unique in each settlement process, explain the formation of diverse types of organizations among immigrant groups.     

How Do Organizations and Social Policies ‘Acculturate’ to Immigrants? Accommodating Skilled Immigrants in Canada

While the idea of acculturation (Berry 1997) was originally proposed as the mutual change of both parties (e.g., immigrants and the host society), the change processes of host societies are neglected in research. A grounded theory study explored the efforts of human service organizations to 'acculturate' to an increasingly diverse immigrant population, through interviews conducted with service providers serving Mainland Chinese immigrants. Acculturation efforts of human service organizations (mezzo-level acculturation) were often needs-driven and affected by the political will and resultant funding programs (macro-level forces). Even with limitations, human service organizations commonly focused on hiring Mainland Chinese immigrants to reflect the changing demographics of their clientele and creating new programs to meet the language and cultural backgrounds of the clients. To contextualize these organizational efforts, an analysis of how policy changes (macro-level acculturation) interact with organizational practice is presented. Finally, the meaning of acculturation for the host society is discussed.     

Personality and Attitudinal Predictors of Support of Proposition 187—California's Anti-Illegal Immigrant Initiative1

Right-wing authoritarianism, stereotypes about illegal immigrants relative to legal immigrants (and nonimmigrants), and collective self-esteem were investigated as predictors of attitude toward California's Proposition 187—the 1994 initiative making illegal immigrants ineligible for public services. Among both Latinos (n= 92) and Caucasians (n= 79), right-wing authoritarianism and negative stereotypes about illegal immigrants predicted Proposition 187 support and reported vote. For Latinos, low collective self-esteem and high levels of acculturation predicted support and vote in favor of Proposition 187. In contrast, high collective self-esteem among Caucasians was related to Proposition 187 support and vote. The results suggest that 3 perspectives on prejudice—personality, cognitive, and cultural—contribute to the understanding of attitudinal and behavioral support of Proposition 187.     

Naturalization and employment integration of Turkish and Moroccan immigrants in the Netherlands

This article deals with immigrants’ naturalization decisions and their effects on socioeconomic integration. The research questions are the following: Is cultural integration of immigrants positively related to naturalization? Does naturalization exert a positive influence on the employment integration of immigrants in the Netherlands? Using data from the ‘Social position and Use of Public Facilities by Migrants’ (SPVA) survey for the year 2002, we concentrate our analysis on Turks and Moroccans. The results of multivariate analyses indicate that naturalization of Turks and Moroccans in the Netherlands is not positively related to cultural integration nor to employment integration. These unexpected findings can be explained by the Dutch rules on naturalization.     

Mexican migrant-smuggling: A cross-border cottage industry

As the United States has intensified surveillance of its southern border with Mexico, unauthorized migrants have become increasingly dependent on hired smugglers when they cross the border and reach their destinations in the US interior. According to the US Immigration and Naturalization Service, tighter border controls have systematically transformed migrant smuggling into a sophisticated and highly profitable industry dominated by large-scale criminal syndicates that prey on migrants desperate to enter the US without official authorization. In this article I argue that despite the rise of larger-scale smuggling organizations, smuggling of migrants across the US-Mexico border is still undertaken by small-scale and/or part-time smugglers who are embedded in the Mexican migrant community itself. Moreover, I suggest that the logic that predicts the elimination of small-scale smugglers from the market is flawed because it is based on an unrealistic assessment of the requirements for mounting a successful smuggling enterprise. I base this claim on preliminary findings from an ongoing ethnographic study of migrant smuggling on the South Texas-Northeast Mexico border that I began in summer 1998.     

Mental Health Professionals’ Attitudes,Perceptions, and Stereotypes Toward Latino Undocumented Immigrants

We assessed the attitudes, perceptions, and stereotypes toward Latino immigrants among 247 mental health professionals across 32 U.S. states. We also randomly presented two versions of an attitude measure that varied in their references to immigrants (“illegal aliens” or “undocumented immigrants”). Participants reported that they did not agree with the anti-immigration law Arizona SB 1070 and other similar bills. Also, greater multicultural awareness was related to positive attitudes and fewer stereotypes toward immigrants. Furthermore, participants who were asked to think about “undocumented immigrants” viewed Latino immigrants more positively than those who were asked think about “illegal aliens.” Findings show the continued need for multicultural awareness and competence training for mental health professionals, which align with the American Psychological Association’s Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (i.e., Principle E: Respect for People’s Rights and Dignity and Standard 3.01: Unfair Discrimination). Limitations and future directions for research are discussed.     

Explaining the Integration Paradox Among Small Immigrant Groups in the Netherlands

Previous studies among the four largest immigrant groups in the Netherlands suggest that higher-educated immigrants, who are more apt to integrate, actually experience more discrimination than lower-educated immigrants, which is referred to as the integration paradox. In this study, we first investigate whether this paradox also exists among smaller immigrant groups (i.e. Afghani, Iraqi, Irani, Somali, Polish and Chinese) in the Netherlands. Second, we aim to explain the educational effect on perceived personal discrimination. We derive hypotheses from a theory of exposure and a theory of rising expectations. Data are drawn from a large-scale survey (SING2009) and include close to 1,000 face-to-face interviews for each of the small ethnic minority groups. Our study supports the existence of an integration paradox for small immigrant groups in the Netherlands. Our results show that higher-educated immigrants perceive more personal discrimination, which can be attributed to their exposure to Dutch politics, their experience of relative deprivation regarding their work and education and their participation in associations.     

Lobbying for Civil and Religious Rights of Immigrants and Muslims: Desecuritization Strategies of Islamic Umbrella Organizations in Germany

This article discusses how Islamic umbrella organizations advocate for civil rights of immigrants and Muslims in Germany. By focusing on the changing migration and security regimes at the turn of the twenty-first century, it analyzes the political emphasis on perceived “threats” in light of theoretical debates about the “securitization of migration”, and in particular, the role of Islamic organizations as lobbyists which publicly protest against associations being made between the two policy fields. Their public protest is against provisions of the new Nationality Act (2000) and the Immigration Act (2005) that require immigrants to prove German language skills, to be able to support themselves, and to pass naturalization tests as well as against the lack of dual citizenship and local voting rights. In addressing these issues, Islamic umbrella organizations expand their traditional scope of advocacy work to achieve religious rights for Muslim individuals and organizations, such as the official recognition of Islamic umbrella organizations and the introduction of Islamic religious education in public schools.     

Rethinking the Connections between Religion and Civic Life for Immigrants: The Case of the Chinese Diaspora

Through interviews with 33 Chinese American first- and second-generation immigrants, we ask how narratives that describe the link between religion and civic life differ among Buddhists, Christians, and nonreligious Chinese. All groups stress the tight institutional connections between religion and politics in the United States. For Chinese Christians, congregations provide opportunities to serve their fellow parishioners and the wider community, as well as political rhetoric to guide practices. Buddhists actively criticize a religious organizational approach to community service and the US connection between politics and religion, emphasizing the development of inherent ethical dimensions for motivating service to others. And the non-religious stressed the role of religious organizations in facilitating volunteering. There is also a difference between the responses of first- and second-generation immigrants, with first-generation immigrants having a more difficult time understanding the meaning of American community service. Results expand scholarship on the connection between religion and civic life.     

Making Sense of the APA: A History of the Relationship Between Psychology and the Military

The American Psychological Association (APA) has been steadfast in its position that psychologists must have the right to participate in interrogations in U.S.-run illegal detention centers. One wonders why the APA is so resolute in this view especially in light of the opposition to involvement in these sites by all other relevant professional organizations. This paper offers an answer to this question by means of an exploration of the historical bond between American psychology and the military. It is demonstrated that the dramatic growth of psychology after World War II is attributable to resources supplied by the Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency. It is argued that the historical and current dependency of psychology on the military for research funds as well as clinical training and treatment has resulted in a historical and current debt on the part of psychology to both of these organizations. This debt is repaid by an unquestioned endorsement of military policy, no matter how questionable its ethical or legal basis might be.     

Dutch immigrant policies before and after the Van Gogh murder

The murders of the Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn and the filmmaker Theo van Gogh have made headlines internationally and made readers wonder what happened in the country that used to have a reputation for tolerance and practice integration policies for immigrants that were seen as progressive in the European context. This article outlines the background of these spectacular and tragic events. Specifically it tries to assess the consequences for integration policies in the Netherlands. First an outline is given of the “Ethnic Minorities Policies” started in the Netherlands in the early 1980s, how the framing of that policy changed gradually in the 1990s to a more Republican integration policy and underwent a final change from 2002 on towards an assimilationist policy that serves restrictive and selective admission of immigrants. Secondly, as a background to these changes the public and political discourse on immigration and integration and integration is analyzed: from a depoliticized, consensus-policy in the 1980s, the gradual politicization of these topics in the 1990s, towards the populist rhetoric and policy argumentations after the turn of the century. Thirdly, the murder on Van Gogh and its interpretations by politics, media and society is specifically analysed. Finally the consequences for integration policies in the Netherlands are assessed.     

Social Capital and Economic Integration of Visible Minority Immigrants in Canada

On the basis of the 2002 Ethnic Diversity Survey, we study the role of human and social capital in explaining the personal earnings of foreign born persons working full-time, aged 25–64 years. The income differences associated with given visible minority categories are reduced after controls for human and social capital, but the differences remain significant, especially for men and for all but the Chinese category. Among the human capital factors, education and speaking English or French at home are positively related with earnings, while having the highest degree or diploma from outside of Canada is negative for all groups, although not statistically significant. Among the social capital considerations, trust was associated with higher income, while lack of participation in community organizations was an earnings disadvantage. Counter to expectations, individualization, or weak bonding and weak bridging ties, was associated with higher income, for men and for the other/multiple visible minorities and white immigrants.     

The relationship between political participation and civic community of migrants in the Netherlands

This article examines the relationship between different forms of political participation and the civic participation in organizations of ethnic minorities in the Netherlands. We have investigated the turnout rates and voting behaviour of migrants, the participation of councillors from ethnic minority groups and party of officials in four cities and the organizations of ethnic minorities in Amsterdam and on a national level. The combination of all this information supplies us with a picture of the civic community of the ethnic groups in the Netherlands and we theorize about explanations on differences between these groups.     

Does Money Buy Immigrant Happiness?

The relationship between income and happiness for international immigrants has been relatively unexplored. A handful of cross-sectional studies has shown that income and happiness are positively correlated after migration, and that wealthier immigrants are more satisfied with their post-migration lives than are their less privileged peers. What is unclear is if the link between income and happiness remains positive as immigrants assimilate to life in a new country. This question is the focus of our study. Using longitudinal data from over 10,000 immigrants tracked up to 30 years in the German Socio-Economic Panel Survey, we set out to provide some insight into the long-term relationship between immigrants’ self-reported life satisfaction and the level of their income in its absolute form. Longitudinal analyses revealed that immigrants who experienced increases in income over time reported greater satisfaction with life and that the income-happiness link remained relatively stable over time. The effect of absolute income on immigrants’ happiness was, nevertheless, small. We also observed that country of origin played an important role in the post-migration association between income and happiness. Income was a stronger predictor of the life satisfaction of immigrants from poorer origins than it was for their wealthier counterparts.     

Attitudes toward U.S. immigration policy: the roles of in-group-out-group bias,economic concern,and obedience to law

California's Proposition 187, directed primarily toward Mexican immigrants, deprives illegal immigrants of many benefits associated with U.S. citizenship and facilitates their deportation. The authors hypothesized that the respondents' opinions on this proposition would be determined by in-group-out-group bias (i.e., the tendency to evaluate the ethnic out-group more negatively than the ethnic in-group). In accord with that hypothesis, variations in respondent ethnicity (Studies 1 and 2) and in immigrant ethnicity (Study 3) were systematically related to the respondents' opinion on that issue. Moreover, the effect of in-group-out-group bias was independent of perceived reasoned economic and legal considerations that underlay the respondents' opinion.     

THE SCIENTIST AS STATESMAN: BIOLOGISTS AND THIRD WORLD HEALTH

One of the most threatening problems the world faces is the growing poverty crisis and the related human rights inequalities and the spread of diseases in underprivileged areas. Human rights and relief organizations try hard to contain the devastation of these interconnected difficulties. What is the role of the biomedical scientist in this endeavor? The challenges that biomedical scientists face in their research lead us to question whether scientists can go beyond the time‐consuming realm of experimental investigation and engage the issues of society in a more public way. I suggest how the scientist's role can be expanded in our complex and precarious world, introducing the idea of the modern biomedical researcher as scientist, scholar‐philosopher, and statesman for the scientific community and the larger human rights community. I provide examples of where the scientist can interface with human rights organizations, medical doctors, political and civic leaders, and the science‐religion dialogue. My argument reveals the emerging role of the biomedical scientist as one of public service in addition to and beyond the realm of the experimental investigator. This role, however, is formidable, and I list some of the obstacles it entails.     

NGOs and the future of the migration debate

Over the past quarter of a century, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working with refugees and immigrants in the United States have emerged as a formidable force. The government funds them to help newcomers adjust, policy-makers listen to them, the media quotes them, and immigrants and refugees rely on them for assistance and advocacy. This development has caused tensions with other stakeholders in the US immigration debate and raised concerns that it will lead to polarization over progress in the policy arena. The author argues that although NGOs and other key actors have had a difficult time responding to the pace, scope, and diversity of immigration into the US, a combination of factors make it possible, even likely, that in the coming decade NGOs, federal and local governments, researchers, refugee and immigrant communities, and intergovernmental organizations will forge new understandings and modernized policy structures that will manage migration intelligently rather than repress it ineffectively.     

Inheritance of Religiosity Among Muslim Immigrants in a Secular Society

This study examined the intergenerational transmission of religiosity within Muslim immigrant families who live in the Netherlands, a rather secular society. We studied whether transmission of religiosity within immigrant families is influenced by warm family relations on the one hand, and integration into the host country on the other hand. Two analyses were carried out on a nationally representative sample of Turkish and Moroccan first- and second-generation immigrants aged 15–45, in the Netherlands. The findings support the hypotheses to some extent: warm family ties are found to facilitate religious transmission but transmission is stronger when parents have different national backgrounds. A stronger transmission is found within families that are stronger embedded in religious communities; however there are large differences between men and women. Our research shows that the influence of parental religiosity cannot be ignored in the study of immigrants’ religiosity.     

Opening up legal channels for temporary migration: A way to reduce human smuggling?

The increase in emigration pressures in sending countries together with the tightening of admission requirements for legal migrants and asylum seekers in receiving countries, are said to be among the main factors driving the growth in human smuggling. For this reason, many commentators have advocated the creation of more regular channels for employment, and the introduction of temporary worker programs, especially for the low skilled to reduce human smuggling. It is often suggested that if more migrants were able to enter developed countries legally for short periods to work, fewer people would need to turn to smugglers for assistance. This article discusses some of the arguments for and against this policy approach, focusing on Europe. The article suggests that there are likely to be no easy solutions to combating people smuggling, and only a comprehensive approach, is likely to have any chance of success; such an approach should include a range of measures including greater onportunities for temporary employment.     

Need for closure effect on collective action intentions and behavior toward immigrants in Italy: The mediation of binding foundations and political conservatism

Why are people (de)motivated to mobilize in favor of immigrants? Addressing this question, we investigated the role of individuals' epistemic motivation (i.e., need for closure) in influencing the process of becoming motivated to participate in collective action in favor of immigrants in Italy. Specifically, the mediational role of binding moral foundations and political conservatism in explaining the relationship between need for closure and collective action in favor of immigrants was examined in three studies. It was hypothesized that a heightened need for closure would be indirectly and negatively associated with collective action in favor of immigrants, sequentially mediated first through binding moral foundations and then political conservatism. We found support for this prediction when either dispositional measure (Study 1 and Study 2) or an experimental induction (Study 3) of need for closure were used, and when both collective action intentions (Study 1 and Study 3) and behavior (Study 2) were assessed. The results suggest that need for closure constitutes a powerful motivational force that leads individuals to engage in uncertainty‐reducing evaluations and actions. We discuss these results regarding how they are related with previous work and their implications for research and practice.