Publications

This recent research investigates the role that immigrant detention centers have in spreading infectious diseases, such as COVID-19. Patler and Saadi find that of those who are detained, 42.5% had at least 1 chronic condition. This, coupled with the poor living standards of detention centers, can increase the spread and severity of COVID-19 infections. 

To learn more about the research, read the full publication here.

The research investigates the relationship between an immigrant's legal status and their projected socioeconomic status. To explore this relationship, Patler, Hamilton, and Hale compare earnings of immigrants with DACA to those without. What they found was that recipients of DACA were expected to be in a higher socioeconomic class than non-receiving immigrants. 

To learn more about this relationship between legal and socioeconomic status, read the full research here. 

In his recent publication, Santiago Pérez contrasts the lives of Italian immigrants who moved to Argentina versus the United States during the Age of Mass Migration. He finds that Italians assimilated much faster when migrating to Argentina than they did the United States. The Italians' higher human capital relative to the Argentinians and the similarities in the languages of Italian and Spanish are the main reasons for ease of assimilation.

The study examined the consequences of Swiss legislation that granted European cross-broder workers free access to the Swiss labor market. As expected, they found that foreign employment increased substantially. Also, the increase in this labor supply was accompanied by an increase in labor demand, which led to higher wages for highly educated Swiss workers. 

To learn more about the findings, read the full publication here.

Juan Antonio del Monte and Robert McKee Irwin recently had their paper "Migrant autonomy and wilfulness amidst the onslaught of the Covid-19 pandemic at the Tijuana border" published in two journals. The research focuses on the impact of Covid-19 on the lives of immigrants who desire to cross the US-Mexico border. 

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A brief co-authored by GMC Executive Committee member Caitlin Patler on the conditions of immigrant detention facilities and their status as a hotbed for COVID-19 transmission was recently published by the Harvard Immigration Initiative as part of their Issue Brief Series. 

The paper "Intergenerational Mobility of Immigrants in the United States over Two Centuries", co-authored by Santiago Perez, which finds that the children of immigrants have much higher rates of upward mobility than their U.S.-born counterparts was published in the American Economic Review. The paper was also featured by the American Economic Association in their most recent Chart of the Week series. 

GMC Affiliate Raquel Aldana's essay discusses the potential solutions to the migration challenges of Central America's Northern Triangle that can be easily undertaken by the Biden Administration.

A paper by Caitlin Patler, Erin Hamilton, and Robin Savinar on the impacts of DACA on the mental health of Latino/a immigrant youth was featured as part of National Affairs' daily research roundup. 

Read the full roundup here. 

A new Migrant Narrative by Linn Normand, Ellen Opsal, and Ali Doriani features the story of Ali Doriani, an Iranian cartoonist who was forced into mandatory detention as a result of Australia's immigration policies, highlighting the need for reform. 

Read the full Migrant Narrative here.