Immigration and Immigrant Integration

Overview

The Russell Sage Foundation/Carnegie Corporation of New York Initiative on Immigration and Immigrant Integration seeks to support innovative research on the effects of race, citizenship, legal status and politics, political culture, and public policy on outcomes for immigrants to the U.S. and for the U.S.-born of different racial and ethnic groups and generations. This initiative is part of RSF’s Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration Program which invites proposals on a broader set of issues.

For over 25 years, RSF has supported immigration research that has contributed to our understanding of (1) immigrant integration and intergenerational mobility, (2) political incorporation, and (3) the causes and consequences of immigration to new areas of settlement. Funded studies have shown the progress made by immigrants and their children, with immigrants becoming more like the U.S.-born over time, and with second and later generations becoming more like other U.S.-born citizens than their parents were. 

A 2016 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine report confirms that, for education, income, residential integration, English language fluency, and living above the poverty line, the children of immigrants do better than their parents and reach parity with other U.S.-born citizens, often within a generation. Nevertheless, the reports notes the continuing importance of legal status, race, and political culture, suggesting that immigrant incorporation into our society remains incomplete.

This initiative also seeks proposals regarding federal policy changes and the resurgence of nativism and anti-immigrant sentiment—from hate crimes to executive orders limiting refugee resettlement to barriers to access asylum protection and due process. And it invites studies of the extent to which social and political institutions reinforce (or prevent) the goals of immigrant progress and integration.

Areas of Interest
RSF and the Carnegie Corporation invite proposals that will strengthen the theory, methods, and empirical knowledge about the effects of race, citizenship, legal status, and the interplay of politics and policy on immigrant outcomes. Because of limitations in government statistics, researchers are curating and analyzing data from both public and private sources (e.g., specialized surveys, administrative sources from tax, social security and citizenship and immigration services, and social media data), and collecting their own data to measure the integration of the foreign-born and their children.

Many of the questions listed below are difficult to answer because of data limitations (Blau & Mackie, 2016; Duncan & Trejo, 2016; Massey, 2010; Waters & Pineau, 2015) regarding age and time of arrival, time spent in the U.S., legal status at present and upon entry, visa type, parents’ and grandparents’ place of birth. Thus, we welcome proposals to improve the measurement of immigrant integration over time and across generations. We are especially interested in creative uses of administrative and other data sources that enhance our ability to identify immigrants by generation and legal status. We are open to the study of historical events which give insight into contemporary immigrant integration.

Examples of the kinds of topics and questions that are of interest include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• Legal Status 
• Naturalization, Citizenship, and Civic Engagement 
• Mixed-Ancestry, Ethnic Identity, and Integration 
• Race, Religion, Legacies of Exclusion, and Inequality 
• Politics, Political Culture, and Public Policy 

We are particularly interested in analyses that make use of newly available data or demonstrate novel uses of existing data. We also support original data collection, such as field experiments, in-depth qualitative interviews, and ethnographies. RSF encourages methodological variety and inter-disciplinary collaboration. All proposals must have well-developed conceptual frameworks and research designs. Analytical models must be specified, and research questions and hypotheses (where applicable) must be clearly stated.

Letter of Inquiry is required. Applications for research grants must be preceded by a brief letter of inquiry (4 pages max. excluding references) to determine whether our present interests and funds permit consideration of a proposal.

Funds can support research assistance, data acquisition, data analysis, and investigator time. Trustee Grants are capped at $200,000, including 15 percent indirect costs, over a two-year period. Presidential Awards are capped at $50,000 (no indirect costs), but at $75,000 (no indirect costs) when the proposed project has special data gathering (e.g., qualitative research) or gaining access to restricted-use data.