(2020). Estimating the Proportion of a Categorical Variable with Probit Regression. Sociological Methods & Research, v49 n3 p809-834 Aug
This article discusses the estimation of a population proportion, using the auxiliary information available, which is incorporated into the estimation procedure by a probit model fit. Three probit regression estimators are considered, using model-based and model-assisted approaches. The theoretical properties of the proposed estimators are derived and discussed. Monte Carlo experiments were carried out for simulated data and for real data taken from a database of confirmed dengue cases in Mexico. The probit estimates give valuable results in comparison to alternative estimators. Finally, the proposed methodology is applied to data obtained from an immigration survey…. [Direct]
(2019). A Brief Look at Legal Infrastructure and Its Implications for Migrants along the U.S.-Mexico Border. Creighton Journal of Interdisciplinary Leadership, v5 n1 p11-13 Jun
Hadfield's "Rules for a Flat World" describes how today's legal infrastructure harms people globally who live in the "Bottom of the Pyramid" (BoP). People who pass through the Kino Border Initiative on the U.S.- Mexico border provide vivid and personal examples of how lack of robust legal infrastructure contributes to acute insecurity in terms of economic well-being and personal safety in parts of Mexico and Central America. The legal infrastructure around immigration and deportation in the U.S. poses additional perils for migrants. Efforts to empower people in the BoP to play a role in legal infrastructure play a critical role in addressing the root causes of migration while respecting their human rights…. [PDF]
(1996). Mexico 1996. Fulbright-Hays Summer Seminar Abroad 1996 (Mexico).
This paper shares the impressions of a participant from the 1996 Fulbright-Hays Summer Seminars Abroad Program in Mexico. These impressions address several current interest topics about international relations with Mexico including: (1) immigration; (2) politics; (3) education; (4) the economy; (5) the environment; (6) the media; (7) religion; and (8) Chiapas. (EH)… [PDF]
(2021). Analysis of Latina/o Sociodemographic and Health Data Sets in the United States from 1960 to 2019: Findings Suggest Improvements to Future Data Collection Efforts. Health Education & Behavior, v48 n3 p320-331 Jun
Introduction: Prior to 1980, U.S. national demographic and health data collection did not identify individuals of Hispanic/Latina/o heritage as a population group. Post-1990, robust immigration from Latin America (e.g., South America, Central America, Mexico) and subsequent growth in U.S. births, dynamically reconstructed the ethnoracial lines among Latinos from about 20 countries, increasing racial admixture and modifying patterns of health disparities. The increasing racial and class heterogeneity of U.S. Latina/os demands a critical analysis of sociodemographic factors associated with population health disparities. Purposes: To determine the state of available Latina/o population demographic and health data in the United States, assess demographic and health variables and trends from 1960 to the present, and identify current strengths, gaps, and areas of improvement. Method: Analysis of 101 existing data sets that included demographic, socioeconomic, and health characteristics of… [Direct]
(2021). Undocumented and Asylum-Seeking Children from Central America and Mexico: Where They Are and How Schools Are Doing. Research Brief. RB-A1326-1. RAND Corporation
In recent years, record numbers of undocumented and asylum-seeking families and children from Mexico and Northern Triangle countries–El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras–crossed the U.S. southwest border in search of safety and opportunity. Some cross undetected, without registering with immigration authorities and becoming "undocumented." Others apply for asylum at the border. Once inside the United States, all children, regardless of immigration status, have the right to a public K-12 education by federal law. Education leaders need unbiased information, data, and good practices so they can be ready to support the newcomers effectively once they enroll in school. RAND Corporation researchers sought to understand how the current increase in undocumented and asylum-seeking children may affect the K-12 school system in the coming years. To do this, the research team collected and analyzed a mix of quantitative and qualitative data and methods. The team reviewed federal and… [Direct]
(2021). Educating Newcomers: K-12 Public Schooling for Undocumented and Asylum-Seeking Children in the United States. Research Report. RR-A1326-1. RAND Corporation
Migration over the U.S. southwest border in the past decade has been composed of growing numbers of undocumented and asylum-seeking families and children from Mexico and Central America, with larger increases starting in fiscal year (FY) 2017. By U.S. law, states must provide education to all children, regardless of immigration status. Yet sufficient information needed for policymaking is lacking, in particular about the ages and geographic locations of the children by state and district, needs for teachers and staff to accommodate these children, and experiences and good practices in schools. To fill this gap, the authors model the numbers of such children by state between FYs 2017 and 2019, review the federal and state policy landscapes for their education, and provide case studies of how schools are managing education for these children in Jefferson Parish Schools in Louisiana and Oakland Unified School District in California. The report specifically aims to help various… [Direct]
(2016). Riding La Besti√°: Preservice Teachers' Responses to Documentary Counter-Stories of U.S. Immigration. Journal of Teacher Education, v67 n5 p408-423 Nov-Dec
In this mixed methods study, we examined the responses of 82 preservice teachers to the acclaimed documentary "Which Way Home", a film that profiles unaccompanied adolescents who hitchhiked the train system of Central America and Mexico en route to the United States. Using pre- and post-surveys (n = 82) and focus group interviews (n = 13), we found that preservice teachers intellectually grappled with immigration counter-stories and demonstrated two shifts in their thinking about immigration and their future teaching. Nested in the frameworks of critical race methodology and Freire's critical consciousness model, this study illustrates one approach to exploring immigration…. [Direct]
(2019). Parent-Child Relationships and Preschoolers' Social-Emotional Functioning among Low-Income Families: The Moderating Role of Parental Nativity. Infants and Young Children, v32 n2 p123-138 Apr-Jun
The demographic composition in the United States has undergone shifts due to increasing immigration. This may change the way we think about families and children in the United States, and it is important to include immigrant families in parenting research. This study examined the relations between parent-child relationships and preschool-aged children's social-emotional functioning in the context of low-income families in the United States. We also explored how the relations between the two were moderated by parental nativity, specifically focusing on parents born in the United States and those who were born in Mexico and emigrated to the United States. The sample included 199 preschool children enrolled in Educare/Head Start programs and their parents, with 134 of the parents born in the United States and 65 born in Mexico. Parents reported parent-child closeness and conflict. Teachers reported children's social-emotional strengths and behavioral concerns. Assessors evaluated… [Direct]
(1987). Patterns of Household Immigration into South Texas. International Migration Review, v21 n1 p27-47 Spr
Results of field research conducted in South Texas during 1982-1983 suggest that immigration leads to downward social mobility with respect to legal status of household members, type of employment, and property ownership. Hypothesizes that household immigration from Mexico is a response to new opportunity structures and widening employment options. (PS)…
(2018). Immigrant Populations and Sanctuary Schools. Journal of Literacy Research, v50 n4 p524-529 Dec
In the summer months of 2018, the world watched as thousands of young children were separated from their families and detained by immigration officials at the border between the United States and Mexico. On television screens and smartphone updates, it seemed the world collectively gasped at this cruel familial trauma and asked, "what can we do? How can we be in solidarity?" In this essay, I situate this state practice in a long-standing tradition of governance of who has rights and who does not. I also provide specific challenges for material solidarity that reaches beyond media soundbites…. [Direct]
(2016). From Marginalization to Insider Research: Advancing the Right to Educational Mobility of U.S.-Educated Deportees in Mexico. AERA Online Paper Repository, Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (Washington, D.C., Apr 8-12, 2016)
This paper provides an analysis of the intersection between education and immigration policies within a transnational context and explores the extent to which U.S. immigration law has caused a forced return migration to Mexico of the U.S. DREAMer population. My analysis includes a discussion of the social conditions and lack of policies in Mexico to facilitate the educational reinsertion as well as how U.S. immigration law limits mobility of this subpopulation of the Mexican Diaspora that has been returning in record numbers to its country of origin (Passel et al. 2012). A normative analysis of U.S. immigration policy will be presented to understand the systematic legal exclusion and expulsion from the United States of individuals who had been integrated in the U.S. educational system and society (Gonzales 2011) and who are currently excluded from federal executive actions like Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). This paper reviews educational policies that impact… [Direct]
(2021). Leading Inclusive Schools: Principal Perceptions, Practices, and Challenges to Meaningful Change. Educational Administration Quarterly, v57 n1 p3-48 Feb
Background: For over 50 years, special education has been used as a tool to maintain racial segregation, particularly in schools located in low-income communities of color. This study utilized tenets found in disability critical race theory (DisCrit) and inclusive school leadership literature to examine the perceptions, practices, and challenges associated with meaningful change in inclusive schools. Purpose: The purpose of this article was to understand how six elementary school principals, identified as effective inclusive leaders, perceived students with disabilities within a low-income Mexican American immigrant community along the U.S.-Mexico border. Findings: Our study highlights the important role principals play in creating inclusive schools and the ways in which race, disability, family background, language, and immigration status effect principals in their efforts to promote inclusion. While each principal recognized the noted factors above and confronted a multitude of… [Direct]
(2017). Who Is Going to Build the Wall? A Building Trades Crisis in the U.S.A. Online Submission
A significant workforce shortage exists in most skilled trades areas in the U.S., but this is especially true in building and construction trades. The number of jobs in the construction industry is expected to grow by almost 20% between 2008 to 2018, while only growing by 11% for all other industries. With the prospect of significant shortages in the building trades, coupled with stronger border security and stiffer immigration enforcement, the question begs to be asked, who is going to build the wall politicians are calling for on the border between the U.S. and Mexico?… [PDF]
(2019). State of Texas Children 2019: Child Well-Being in Webb County. Center for Public Policy Priorities
Located on the U.S.-Mexico border, Webb County is an international trading center, bursting with culture and opportunities. But the county's future success depends on whether every Webb County child has access to opportunities that help them reach their full potential. Ensuring the well-being of all Webb County's children–across neighborhood, income, immigration status, race and ethnicity–is essential for each child's well-being and that of the community. Unfortunately, Webb County is not doing as well as Texas overall on many indicators of children's health, education and financial security–revealing a pattern of underinvestment in children's futures. This Webb County report is part of a larger series of reports in the Texas Kids Count project that focuses on equity in child well-being across Texas and in several of its major metro areas. [Texas Kids Count is a project of the Center for Public Policy Priorities. Additional funding for this paper was provided by Methodist… [PDF]
(2016). Immigration Reform and Education: Demystifying Mythologies about Latina/o Students. Multicultural Learning and Teaching, v11 n1 p29-51 Mar
In this paper, the authors deconstruct commonly held mythologies about immigration to inform the critical discourse and support those educators who strive to be fair brokers of an inclusive educational system addressing the distinct needs of immigrant students. We (teacher educators and a community organizer) emphasize and clarify verifiable information that in fact refutes seven prevalent mythologies often articulated in the public debate. In our observations and experiences, this misinformation impacts decisions and fosters biases about Latina/o immigrants in the educational field, particularly impacting students from Mexico and Latin American countries. By debunking misinformation, we seek to inform a thoughtful discourse as advocates engaged to positively influence how these students are viewed by educators. This paper highlights evidence needed to advance the learning and educational success of Latina/o students. The hope of the authors is for a more thoughtful recognition of… [Direct]