Immigration Dimensions of Local Governance: Municipalities, Neighborhoods, and Citizenship

移民政策的制定具有全国乃至国际的重要性，但它也体现在当地，在人们实际居住的城市、社区和社区内。联邦官员鼓励地方官员加入联邦执法行动，当地居民在他们的社区倡导当地的移民政策。市政官员为了应对这些压力，制定了一系列有意或无意地解决移民问题的政策。学校可能会被要求为“童年抵美暂缓遣返”申请提供入学证明，当地公共卫生倡议可能需要考虑非公民获得医疗保险的资格，住房援助可能仅限于公民和合法永久居民，等等。城市工作人员进行的日常和世俗的行政实践为移民在他们的新社区创造了机会。本项目探讨移民问题如何影响当地政府的政策和行政实践。了解地方如何参与更广泛地影响移民政策制定的动态，对地方社区和我们国家的福祉至关重要。该项目对加州长滩市的市政机构和社区协会进行了深入的研究。长滩是这类研究的战略案例，因为它是一个中等规模的城市，拥有46.7万居民，在全国最多样化的大城市中排名第十，位于倾向自由的洛杉矶和倾向保守的奥兰治县之间。这项研究广泛覆盖了不同城市机构和部门的政策。本研究采用了几种信息来源：(1)研究小组将收集和分析来自城市主要部门的表格、政策文件和外联材料。(2)对这些重点部门的公职人员进行访谈。访谈将重点关注官员如何对他们所服务的社区进行概念化，他们认为这些社区中的关键部门是什么，以及他们如何与这些公众接触。(3)为了获得社区的观点，研究小组将在两年的研究中对选定的社区协会进行深入的实地调查，并采访社区协会成员和领导。这些数据将有助于深入了解社区成员关心的问题，以及他们如何向政府官员施加压力，要求他们更包容、更严格，或两者兼而有之。(4)为了补充访谈数据，将在城市官员与社区成员互动的公共场所进行实地观察。这些环境可能包括社区博览会、教育演讲、公众会议和机构外展。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Immigration policy-making is of national and even international importance, but is also something that manifests locally, within the cities, communities, and neighborhoods where people actually live. Federal officials have encouraged local officials to join federal enforcement initiatives, and local residents have advocated for local immigration policies in their communities. Municipal officials have responded to these pressures by enacting a wide range of policies that intentionally or inadvertently address immigration. Schools may be asked to provide proof of enrollment for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals applications, local public health initiatives may need to consider noncitizens’ eligibility for medical insurance, housing assistance may be limited to citizens and lawful permanent residents, and more. The everyday and mundane administrative practices carried out by city personnel shape opportunities for immigrants in their new communities. This project investigates how the issue of immigration influences the policies and administrative practices of local government. Understanding how localities participate in the dynamics that shape immigration policy-making more broadly is key to the well-being of local communities and of our nation. The project performs in-depth research on city agencies and neighborhood associations in Long Beach, California. Long Beach is a strategic case for this type of study because it is a mid-sized city with a population of 467,000 residents, it was ranked the 10th most diverse large city in the nation, and is located between liberal leaning Los Angeles and conservative leaning Orange County. The study casts a wide net over the policies of different city agencies and departments. The study employs several sources of information: (1) the research team will collect and analyze forms, policy documents, and outreach materials from key city departments. (2) Interviews will be conducted with public officials in these key departments. Interviews will focus on how officials conceptualize the communities they serve, what they see as the key sectors within these communities, and how they engage these publics. (3) To access community perspectives, the research team will perform in-depth fieldwork within selected neighborhood associations over the two years of the study and will interview neighborhood association members and leadership. This data will provide insight into the issues that community members care about and how they pressure public officials to be more inclusive, more restrictive, or both. (4) To supplement interview data, field observations will be conducted in public settings where city officials interact with community members. Such settings may include community fairs, educational presentations, public meetings, and agency outreach.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.