UO's immigration report reviews historical record and offers recommendations

EUGENE, Ore. -- (May 22, 2008) -- From 1990 to 2005, Oregon's Latino population -- now 10 percent of the state's total -- doubled in 21 counties. And more Russians and Ukrainians came to Oregon and Washington than to any other U.S. region. Oregon is, according a report by University of Oregon researchers, "a leading destination point for refugees," ranking 11th nationally.

More importantly than the numbers, the authors note that despite long-running ambivalence that Oregonians have displayed toward newcomers over the years, many of the newer immigrants are making progress finding their way into the daily life of the state.

The report – Understanding the Immigrant Experience in Oregon: Research, Analysis, and Recommendations from University of Oregon Scholars – also provides recommendations for communities, policymakers and other institutions "to help immigrants become more successfully integrated into social and economic life."

It is being unveiled at  8:45 p.m. today at the close of the opening session of the two-day Conference on Gender, Families and Latino Immigration in Oregon being held in the Knight Law Center, 1515 Agate St. It will then be distributed to Oregon legislative and political leaders, to various social service agencies and community organizations, foundations and academics.

LERC Director Bob Bussel

The report is a collaborative effort by 11 UO scholars coordinated by the UO's Labor Education and Research Center (LERC) and edited by LERC Director Robert Bussel. It was funded by a grant from the UO Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies and translated into Spanish with a $25,000 grant from the Oregon Community Foundation's Betty Lou Roberts Fund.

The report is available in PDF format at the LERC Web site.

"This report is an initial effort to help broaden public understanding of the immigrant experience in Oregon," Bussel said. "It is intended to provide a framework for more informed discussion about the state’s changing social demographics, increasing diversity and the need for strategies and policies that recognize and respond to this important development."

The report's six chapters provide a historical perspective on immigration, with emphasis on the Latino experience, into both cities and rural areas. It considers family dynamics, employment and educational issues, and the process by which immigrants are adapting to their new social environments. The topics are addressed from an interdisciplinary approach, merging insights from anthropology, clinical psychology, geography, history and sociology.

"The information in this report is critical for communities across the state experiencing rapid demographic change," said Greg Chaille, president of the Oregon Community Foundation. "We are happy that the Oregon Community Foundation has partnered with the University of Oregon to disseminate the report to Oregonians."

Jorge Navarro, a member of the report's community advisory board and executive director of Centro Latino Americano in Eugene, agrees on the document's importance. "Considering the political environment in which we live, the release of data that help inform and give context to the issue of immigration in the state of Oregon is critical," he said. "It is clear that this investigation into the history of immigration is but a beginning step. I look forward to more. As a provider of services for the Latino community, I believe that this kind of information will allow us to respond to the future needs of the whole community."

Recommendations are lumped into seven broad areas:

▪ Policymakers should consider extending statewide a variety of existing successful local-based programs that provide comprehensive, coordinated services for immigrants and refugees.

▪ Rural communities with growing immigrant populations should expand bilingual and multilingual services, encourage greater coordination of existing outreach programs and develop closer liaisons among existing institutions and immigrant populations.

▪ Culturally sensitive family-focused approaches should be incorporated into school curricula to enhance intervention efforts with Latino youth. Latinos account for 16.8 percent of Oregon students enrolled in public schools. At the current growth rate, the Oregon Department of Education projects that 28 percent of student enrollment will be Latino by 2020.

▪ Community task forces should be created that bring together key stakeholders to develop programs and policies that address the needs of immigrants and which create working relationships between newcomers and long-time residents. Such a model, the authors note, is the Portland Task Force on Immigrants and Refugees.

▪ A statewide task force of key stakeholders should be convened to develop an overall strategy aimed at helping immigrant workers to become more economically and socially integrated.

▪ State legislation should be pursued to strengthen protections for all workers in Oregon. Such legislation would address abuses arising from nonstandard employment relationships that allow employers to avoid responsibility and liability for their actions.

▪ Legislation that provides a pathway to citizenship or some form of legal status, and support for programs that increase access to English-language instruction, would do much to promote labor-market success and facilitate acculturation for immigrants. The report notes that an estimated 125,000 to 175,000 of foreign-born residents in Oregon currently are categorized as unauthorized.

In their conclusion, the authors write: "As we have seen, ambivalent or conflicted feelings about immigration are nothing new for either Oregonians or Americans. With the failure of congressional efforts to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation, both Oregonians and Americans have been left to their own devices, and the debate over what to do about immigration continues at the state and local level. … Ultimately, both immigrants and native Oregonians will have to negotiate the terms of their relationship and reach some form of accommodation."

The UO authors are: Michael Aguilera, professor of sociology; Bussel, a history professor and LERC's director; J. Mark Eddy, research associate in the Oregon Social Learning Center and courtesy research associate in the department of psychology; Justyna Goworowska, graduate teaching fellow in the department of geography; Susan Hardwick, professor of geography; Mauricio Magana, graduate teaching fellow in the Center for the Study of Women in Society; Charles Martinez, vice provost for the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity, as well as a research scientist in the Oregon Social Learning Center and a professor in the College of Education; Heather McClure, research associate in the Oregon Social Learning Center and courtesy research associate in the department of anthropology; Marcela Mendoza, an adjunct professor and research associate in the department of anthropology; Lara Skinner, graduate teaching fellow at LERC and the department of sociology; and Lynn Stephen, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology.

About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is a world-class teaching and research institution and Oregon's flagship public university. The UO is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization made up of 62 of the leading public and private research institutions in the United States and Canada. Membership in the AAU is by invitation only. The University of Oregon is one of only two AAU members in the Pacific Northwest.

Media Contact: Jim Barlow, director of science and research communications, 541-346-3481, jebarlow@uoregon.edu

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