Diversity and social inclusion are no longer a concern only of large urban areas in the North or the Southwest. According to the 2000 census, five of the ten states with the fastest growing immigrant populations in the 1990s were in the South: North Carolina, Georgia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky. In all five, the foreign-born population more than doubled over the decade. Whether these immigrants are coming to the South directly or via secondary migration from traditional immigrant gateways, they are reshaping the ethnic and occupational make-up of the South.

In November 2003, the Foundation funded an extensive survey of 4500 households in Los Angeles to provide definitive information about the inter-generational progress of immigrant groups in what is now America's largest immigrant receiving city. The Foundation had previously sponsored a similar survey of New York's immigrant second generation, which included a series of in-depth interviews with a subsample of the survey respondents. This qualitative portion of the study yielded rich accounts of what it meant to be a second-generation young adult in New York at the end of the 1990s.

Supplemental Award: $28,000, November 2007

Between 1970 and 2000, the percentage of immigrant children in the U.S. school population tripled. Historically, schools have been important in guiding immigrant children into American civic life. However, recent emphasis on test performance, especially in reading, writing, and math, has forced schools to turn their attention away from civics courses. What effect will that have on the integration of immigrants into American life?

Some immigration scholars have argued that transnationalism has weakened the desire of immigrants to incorporate politically and socially into U.S. life. Others suggest that involvement with one’s country of origin can facilitate incorporation by providing experience that can be usefully applied to domestic political issues.

The present clash between the United States and Islamic extremists has drawn unprecedented attention to the relationship between Islam and liberal democracy and to the experiences of Muslims in American society. In the hyper-charged post-9/11 political climate, does religious identification alienate American Muslims from the political system or heighten their motivation to participate?

Immigrants create and maintain links between their native countries and new homes. Yet researchers disagree about the structural consequences of transnational activities, and how these sorts of ties affect political integration in particular. On one side are those who say that multiculturalism prevents or interferes with assimilation, and on the other side are those who argue that transnational ties are the inevitable consequence of an increasingly global world.

In the spring of 2006, more than three million immigrants and their supporters marched not only through the streets of New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, but also in non-traditional gateways, like Greensboro, Memphis, and Salt Lake City. What prompts immigrant groups to engage in collective protest despite the risk of retaliation? What is the impact of political climate, threats, and segregation on newcomers’ civic and political engagement?

Over the past three decades, there have been dramatic increases in socioeconomic inequalities of many kinds -- in education, health, family structure, political participation, and much else. How have these changes affected patterns of democratic participation and governance in the United States? In turn, how have government policies and programs influenced inequalities along various dimensions?