Integration and Belonging in Two U.S. New Destinations

The extension of border politics, and specifically, a politico-legal context characterized by increased surveillance of immigrant populations and the hardening of immigration controls, is concomitant with the emergence of new destinations (Massey 2008). In this sense, the border has been “pushed inward” (Coleman, 2007). Additionally, a growing number of state and local governments have proposed and/or enacted a wide range of policies with consequences for the lives of immigrants and their families.  Some such policies are aimed at local policing and enforcing of immigration controls while others regulate access to jobs and housing, and more generally, the provision of services. This “variegated landscape” of local policies (Walker and Leitner, 2011) results in contexts of reception that vary significantly across U.S. spaces. From a research standpoint, questions about the interaction between socio-spatial scales (the global, the national, the regional, and the local) in the shaping of the conditions facing Latin@ immigrants gain centrality.  How does the broader context interact with local contexts to shape the conditions facing immigrants?  How do policies, social relations (shaped by power, as they are), and institutional arrangements at these various scales interact to produce particular outcomes for immigrants?  We investigate these questions by exploring the experiences of Latin@ immigrants in two rural new destination communities in the U.S. Midwest region. We draw upon a theoretical framework that understands immigration and integration as racialized and gendered, political-economic processes. We utilize quantitative and qualitative data gathered through original research in rural new destinations in Southwest Kansas and Central Iowa.