Journal of International Migration and Integration最新文献

Canada has long sought to disperse skilled immigration across the country, with the goal of promoting economic development, improving cultural diversity, and mitigating population decline. The Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) are one mechanism for achieving regionalized immigration: they allow Canadian provinces and territories to use labor market information (LMI) to identify in-demand skills and offer visas to newcomers who match local needs. However, even when LMI is accurate, many factors can prevent newcomer access to local labor markets, particularly in third-tier cities (populations of 100,000 to 500,000), including credential recognition, discrimination, and a lack of settlement infrastructure. This paper centers the stories of three newcomers to Canada, each with senior technology sector experience and arriving through PNPs into third-tier cities. Amidst well-established themes in settlement narratives, such as housing affordability, family, lifestyle, and the role of Local Immigration Partnerships (LIPs), this paper suggests that newcomers arriving under programs such as the PNPs may experience LMI congruence or incongruence: the degree to which expectations of a labor market (shaped by being selected for immigration based on particular in-demand skills) match or do not match newcomers' real experiences of labor market access. Policymakers and institutions that use LMI to guide decisions may consider two lessons from the narratives offered in this study: one, the continued importance of reducing barriers to labor market entry for newcomers, and two, the possibility that LMI congruence and accurate expectations play a role in retention.

This paper inventories the number, type, location, and characteristics of refugee resettlement agencies and refugee third sector organizations (RTSOs) in creating opportunities for placemaking and longer-term integration via refugee-centered farming programs in the USA. Using an ArcGIS StoryMap and accompanying database, we map how resettlement organizations engage in farming programs and provide insight into the various actors implementing refugee resettlement and integration policy in the USA, while also highlighting the role of place and placemaking in that process. Findings indicate that there are 40 total organizations involved in 30 states, with 100 farm sites scattered across 48 cities, primarily found in nontraditional sites of resettlement. Using Ager and Strang's (Journal of Refugee Studies, 21(2):166-191, 2008) integration model as a theoretical starting point, we use a two-cycle content analysis to illustrate that organizations have diverse goals focusing on employment, social connections, health, safety and security, and placemaking. Sponsored activities and community projects concentrate on workforce training and community-supported agriculture. This interactive visualization and analysis of existing programs nationwide allow the organizations involved, policymakers, scholars, and members of the public to explore the locations of programs with pertinent information about each organization. The research also illustrates that refugee-centered farming organizations should continue to emphasize their efforts on placemaking as a beneficial strategy for the longer-term integration of resettled refugees. Additionally, this research contributes to larger debates and theoretical understandings of longer-term integration by extending Ager and Strang's (Journal of Refugee Studies, 21(2):166-191, 2008) integration model and embedding place and placemaking as underpinning elements in the process.