Localized Immigration Policy and Migrant Life Experiences

The Case of Mexican Migrants in Southern California

Bibliographic Data

ID5897597
AuthorsA Garni (0000-0001-8599-2448, Kansas State University, corresponding author), Arpi Miller (University of California, Los Angeles)
Year2008
Volume6
Issue3
Pages435-450
Publication date2008-10-21
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1556-2948 • E-ISSN: 1556-2956
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/15362940802371929
OpenAlexW2049596142
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited13

How do Mexican migrants experience and respond to policies designed to affect their migration and settlement plans in Los Angeles? Which policies prove most salient? Drawing on life history interviews with authorized and unauthorized migrants in Los Angeles, we find that a mix of federal, state and local level policies affect the daily lives and behaviors of our migrant informants. Once in the U.S., however, given the current state of federal level policy, it is routine encounters with restrictive local level policies that shape our informants' daily strategies and settlement considerations. The outcome of these encounters is further mediated by the local context and the personal circumstances of the migrants themselves. Our findings suggest that it is crucial to consider a broad range of policy and practice, beyond formal immigration policy, not only in assessing policy's impact on migration trends but also in constructing comparative research designs in future work

Business · Demographic economics · Economic growth · Economics · Geography · Immigration · Immigration policy · Political science · Public policy · Salient · Sociology · Law · Migration and Labor Dynamics · Migration, Refugees, and Integration · Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies

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