June 2007 The following researchers are available as sources for reporters writing about issues related to immigrants and immigration.
Diversity Among Latino Immigrants
Lisa Garcia Bedolla, assistant professor in political science and Chicano/Latino studies, researches the political incorporation of Latinos and other racial/ethnic groups into the American political system. She can offer perspective on the cultural and regional differences among Latinos. She also can discuss what ultimately drives Latinos to a political party. She is author of Fluid Borders: Latino Power, Identity and Politics in Los Angeles, which looks at the political attitudes and activity of Latinos in the diverse areas of Southern California. Contact Garcia Bedolla at 949-824-9298 or lgarciab@uci.edu.
Immigration Policy Around the Globe
Kitty Calavita’s interest in the relationship between law and social structure has led her to focus research on the links between U.S. immigration policy and prevailing economic, political and ideological forces. A professor of criminology, law and society, Calavita has examined decision-making processes of the Immigration and Naturalization Service regarding the Bracero Program of the 1950s and recently published a comparative study of European immigration and guest worker policies in Immigrants at the Margins: Law, Race and Exclusion in Southern Europe. Contact Calavita at 949-824-7610 or kccalavi@uci.edu.
Understanding the Lives of Undocumented Immigrants
Leo Chavez, professor of anthropology and Chicano/Latino studies, has studied immigration for more than 25 years. He has conducted a number of studies on immigrant families, motives for migration, labor market participation, social integration and access to medical services. He has written a book about the lives of undocumented immigrants in American society and another book on the ways immigrants are represented in the media and popular discourse in the United States. Contact Chavez at 949-824-4054 or lchavez@uci.edu.
Latino Political Incorporation and Activism
Louis DeSipio is an expert on Latino politics and immigrant political incorporation. His research extends to public policies on immigrant settlement, naturalization and voting rights, and he recently completed a two-year study with the National Academies’ National Research Council on the future of Latinos in America. He also has analyzed the long-term consequences of the legalization provisions of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act. DeSipio, an associate professor of political science and chair of Chicano/Latino studies, is the author of Counting on the Latino Vote: Latinos as a New Electorate, and has surveyed Latino political values, attitudes and behaviors. Contact DeSipio at 949-824-1420 or ldesipio@uci.edu.
Language and Immigration
Rubén Rumbaut, a leading scholar of immigration, can provide insight on how immigrants acculturate. His research encompasses bilingualism and language loss, citizenship, socioeconomic mobility, educational achievement and aspirations, as well as the paradoxes of assimilations. He is particularly interested in the children of immigrants, including the “1.5 generation” (people who immigrated to the United States as children) and the second generation (people born in the United States to immigrant parents). Rumbaut, a sociology professor, is a lead investigator on a study of immigration and intergenerational mobility in metropolitan Los Angeles and a co-director of the landmark Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (1991 – ongoing). He co-directs with Frank Bean the UCI Center for Research on Immigration, Population and Public Policy. Rumbaut’s most recent book is Legacies: The Story of the Immigrant Second Generation, winner of two American Sociological Association awards. Contact Rumbaut at 949-824-2495, rrumbaut@uci.edu.
Presidential Politics and Power
Mark Petracca, associate professor and chair of political science, is an authority on American political institutions, public policy, power and political discourse. Petracca can comment on Bush's immigration proposal, as well as the political implications for California. An astute observer of presidential politics and voting behavior, Petracca is a prolific writer and commentator, regularly publishing articles in political journals and in California newspapers. Contact Petracca at 949-824-4012 or mppetrac@uci.edu.
Politics of Protest
David S. Meyer, professor of sociology and political science, can discuss the development and tactics of protest movements, as well as their effects on politics and policy. He follows contemporary protest movements closely, including the immigrants' rights movement and its opponents. Meyer recently published The Politics of Protest: Social Movements in America, and he has written extensively on peace and antiwar movements, abortion, violence against women, and other movements. He teaches courses on social movements, social problems and sociological theory, and is interested in why social movements emerge when they do and what influence they have on politics and public policy. Contact Meyer at 949-824-1475 or dmeyer@uci.edu.
Family Ties: The Impact of Older Immigrants
Judith Treas explores the experiences of aging immigrants, and how the older generation impacts the success of the immigrant family. Treas, a professor of sociology, is co-author of Older People in America’s Immigrant Families: Dilemmas of Dependence, Integration, and Isolation. Her work relies on census data and interviews to examine family lives of older immigrants to the U.S. Treas is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and was recently elected 2008-09 president of the Pacific Sociological Association. She also is a member of the Census Advisory Committee for the 2010 U.S. census. Contact Treas at jktreas@uci.edu.
Other UCI Resources:
UCI’s Center for Research on Immigration, Population and Public Policy conducts policy-relevant research on international migration and other population processes. Much of the center’s research focuses on the experiences and incorporation of immigrants in the U.S. over the course of generations – focusing not only on the immigrants themselves, but their children and grandchildren in America. Faculty associated with the center have conducted research with grants from the National Science Foundation, Russell Sage Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and others. To learn more about the center, visit www.cri.uci.edu.
