In 2018, 3.6 million eviction cases were filed in U.S. county courts with a substantial percentage of the plaintiffs having filed multiple eviction lawsuits. Recent estimates for 2023 suggest the number of debt collection lawsuits range from $2.5 to $4.5 million. Multiple studies have examined the impact of evictions and debt collection on individuals, but less attention has been paid to the combined experience of debt collection and eviction lawsuits and how these lawsuits cluster in households and neighborhoods.

Little is known about how the 2003 transition in authority for border security from the Department of Justice (DOJ) to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the rapid retooling of DHS under President Trump have impacted U.S.-Mexico border communities. Two decades ago, sociologist Patrisia Macías-Rojas documented the transformation in border security in the aftermath of 9/11 on border communities.

Ensuring the political representation of ethnic and racial minorities is one of the oldest and most pressing challenges facing American democracy. However, simply electing racial and ethnic politicians does not guarantee that they will respond to the needs of their minority constituents. Sociologist Ellis Monk and political scientist René Rejon will examine the relationship between the racial and ethnic identity of African American, Asian American, and Latinx politicians and their support for legislation benefiting their minority constituents.

While there was hope for immigration reform that would improve the security and wellbeing of immigrants under the Biden administration, comprehensive immigration reform did not occur. Now, the second Trump administration has begun conducting unprecedented mass deportations. Sociologists Margot Moinester and Ariela Schachter will examine how re-intensification of immigration enforcement shapes fear of deportation among first- and second-generation Latinx, Asian, and Black adults. They will conduct a fifth wave of the National Study of Fear of Deportation for their project.

Administrators of Japanese internment camps during World War II claimed that the purpose of the camps was assimilation and incorporation into American society, not surveillance or punishment. To achieve this goal, administrators conducted a series of social science experiments targeting internees. Sociologist Sunmin Kim will explore how Japanese American internees experienced the camps and how these social science experiments impacted their experiences. He will analyze administrative records, correspondence, and social scientific reports from the internment camps for his study.

This grant is co-funded with the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

This grant is co-funded with the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

While incarceration rates in the United States have declined over the last 15 years, recidivism remains high, with a large percentage of those released from prison being rearrested within a few years. Employment is often considered an important part of successful community reentry, but ex-offenders occupy a particularly disadvantaged position in the labor market. Sociologists Adam Reich and Erin Jacobs Valentine will examine the impact of union pre-apprenticeships for the formerly incarcerated on reentry outcomes, such as employment, earnings, and recidivism.

Recent research has shown that incarceration is detrimental for credit and financial wellbeing. Research has also shown that expanded Medicaid access for recently released, formerly incarcerated individuals is beneficial for employment, healthcare use, and avoiding reincarceration. However, no research has directly examined whether healthcare access may be a channel for promoting improved financial wellbeing and credit outcomes for formerly incarcerated individuals and their families.