By Ethan Cantor ’16
This semester I have been taking a class with Professor Williamson, “Immigration and Integration Policy” (PBPL 331), where we have analyzed a wide variety of issues that inform the debate on immigration policy. In perfect timing with the teaching of this course, the Trinity Political Science Department hosted a conference on October 11th and 12th entitled, “The Challenges and Opportunities of Diversity in New Immigrant Destinations.” Scholars from all across the United States and Europe came to speak about their research and findings relating to new immigrant destinations. Several students from Professor Williamson’s PBPL 331 class helped chair the discussions, and even had to opportunity to converse with the visiting scholars over lunches, dinners, and breaks. The conference was a great success and led to a lot of lively conversations. Professor Williamson was not only instrumental in the organization of the conference but also presented her own findings on local responses to immigrants. A week after the conference, I had the chance to interview Professor Williamson to hear more about her own work and the event itself.
Professor Abigail Fisher Williamson, who joined Trinity’s Public Policy & Law department in 2012.
What originally made you interested in the topic of immigration? Was it a particular event, person, or class?
AFW: I have always been interested in what motivates people to participate in politics, as well as how communities work together to address shared challenges. In 2003, I began working on a research project with my graduate school advisor that looked at immigration to new destinations in the United States – previously homogeneous rural areas or suburbs. I became fascinated with how communities respond to new immigrant populations and how that shapes immigrants’ incorporation. The extent to which immigrants become politically incorporated in our society says a lot about the efficacy of our democratic institutions.
Have you focused on a specific topic in your immigration research?
AFW: My research continues to focus on how local governments respond to new immigrant populations and how that shapes processes of social and political incorporation.
How would you describe your PBPL 331 class, “Immigration/Integration Policy” to any students who may be interested in taking it?
AFW: PBPL 331 focuses on both immigration policy – the rules related to who may cross borders – and integration policy – the rules for how we treat immigrants one they have arrived. We read contemporary scholarship and policy reports on this topic, and work on developing policy responses to key questions, through briefings and a final policy memo. In addition, students partner with a Hartford adult immigrant and consider how the experience of local immigrants compares to the theories introduced in class.
Who had the idea of hosting “The Challenges and Opportunities of Diversity in New Immigrant Destinations” at Trinity?
AFW: Professor Messina had the idea to host the conference, since it relates to the research of several members of the Political Science department. I focus on new immigrant destinations in the U.S. and Professor Messina is an expert on immigration and politics in Western Europe. Professor Chambers is beginning a project on Somali immigrants in the U.S., building on her previous work on urban educational politics; and Professor Evans works on Latino political attitudes.
Did any of the scholars’ research take you by surprise or substantially change your thinking on a certain topic?
AFW: One would think that new immigrant destinations should face unique challenges since they lack a pre-existing infrastructure to respond to immigrants. Several papers presented at the conference suggest that new destinations do not differ substantially from traditional gateways in the extent to which they accommodate new immigrants. Professor Arango of La Universidad Complutense de Madrid, an expert on immigration to Spain, suggested that in the European context, the newer countries of immigration are more welcoming and it is only over time that countries become more resistant.
What do you see coming from the conference, whether in your own work or from other scholars’ work?
AFW: We plan to publish an edited volume, which will bring together many of the papers presented at the conference, as well as identifying commonalities and contrasts in the US and European new immigrant destination experiences.
What do you believe to be the number one issue to look out for in the immigration debate over the upcoming months?
AFW: One issue that has been left out of the debate is that of local impact aid for localities facing large populations of immigrants. Unlike the federal government, states and localities largely cannot control who settles within their jurisdiction. Scholarly studies and government reports suggest that the fiscal benefits of immigration tend to flow to the federal government, while the costs flow to state and local governments. On the whole, immigration benefits the United States economy, but the costs and benefits are unevenly distributed. Providing impact aid to states and localities that are serving large immigrant populations, particularly unanticipated newcomers, would ensure that the benefits of immigration are more broadly felt and should contribute to a smoother process of immigrant incorporation over time.